PUBLIC ACCOUNTS COMMISSION

National Audit Office

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Chairman of the Public Accounts Commission whether the recruitment process for the non-executive members of the National Audit Office board is gender-based.

Edward Leigh: The NAO's non-executive board members are appointed by the Public Accounts Commission, upon the recommendation of the NAO chairman. In considering candidates for the role, the chairman considers the requirements of the board, and the need to ensure a balance of skills and experience, and recommends the strongest candidates from those who apply. The roles are subject to a fair and open competition and no gender-based criteria apply.

CHURCH COMMISSIONERS

Access to Church Premises

Barry Sheerman: To ask the right hon. Member for Banbury, representing the Church Commissioners what steps he is taking to improve the accessibility of church premises to the broader community.

Tony Baldry: The Church of England is promoting better accessibility to churches through the “Open and Sustainable Churches” campaign and also by inviting the community to share church buildings for a wide range of complementary community uses. There have also been recent changes to the faculty application process which have enabled community shops and post offices to be set up in part of the building. The Church is committed to continuing to simplify the faculty process and intend to launch an online application process in the near future.

Chancel Liability

Andrea Leadsom: To ask the right hon. Member for Banbury, representing the Church Commissioners what recent assessment he has made of the effects of chancel liability.

Tony Baldry: This is a complex subject. Chancel repair liability is similar to a covenant that runs with the land and is a matter not for the Second Church Estates Commissioner and the Church of England but for the Ministry of Justice and the Land Registry as set out in the Church Repairs Act 1932 and the subsequent changes made under the Land Registration Act 2002 and Land Registration Rules 2003. I refer my hon. Friend and the whole House to the debate in Westminster Hall on 17 October 2012, Official Report,  columns 130-38WH, where the Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, my hon. Friend the Member for Maidstone and The Weald (Mrs Grant) explained these issues very clearly.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Bovine Tuberculosis

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the total cost of policing related to the badger cull pilots to date.

Damian Green: This Department has made no estimate of the total cost of policing relating to the badger cull pilots to date. However, the relevant police forces estimate that the costs for the original six week cull are likely to be in the region of £1.6 million.
	The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has agreed to cover any additional costs incurred by the relevant police forces.

Entry Clearances: Overseas Students

Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the potential effect of changes to the law relating to international students which are proposed in the Immigration Bill on the attractiveness of the UK as a destination for such students.

Mark Harper: The Immigration Bill introduces of a health surcharge for non-EEA temporary migrants and a requirement that private landlords check the immigration status of their prospective tenants. The Home Office has published impact assessments that consider the potential effect of these proposals on migrant groups, including students. These can be accessed at:
	www.gov.uk/government/consultations/migrant-access-to-health-services-in-the-uk
	(health) and
	www.gov.uk/government/consultations/tackling-illegal-immigration-in-privately-rented-accommodation
	(landlords)
	The health surcharge will ensure that temporary migrants make a fair contribution to the cost of health services in the UK commensurate with their more limited immigration status. The surcharge will be set at a competitive rate and will be at a substantially lower cost than private medical insurance, which is a common requirement in many of our competitor nations. We remain committed to ensuring that the UK remains competitive as a destination for the brightest and the best and nothing in these proposals will prevent us from achieving that goal.
	The landlord proposals will introduce simple and straightforward checks that landlords should undertake when letting private rented accommodation to tenants. These will be very similar to the checks that have been required of employers for many years and which most employers are able to conduct within a matter of minutes. Our engagement with landlords and letting agents shows that many landlords already ask tenants to provide evidence about the identity of the individual. Student halls of residence will be exempt from the checking requirement, as educational institutions are already under a requirement to check the status of overseas students under the sponsorship arrangements.

Human Trafficking

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what formula her Department uses to allocate funding to combat human trafficking across police forces.

James Brokenshire: The majority of Government funding for the police is allocated using the Police Allocation Formula (PAF). The allocation of resources to combat specific crimes within each force area is a matter for the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) in consultation with the chief constable.

Immigration: Married People

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications are currently on hold pending the outcome of the High Court judgment regarding the minimum income threshold for sponsoring non-EEA partners and dependent children applying in the family route.

Mark Harper: The Home Office is collating internal management information on the number of applications put on hold overseas and in country following the 5 July 2013 High Court judgment in MM and Others. This information will be published on the Home Office immigration website as soon as possible and then on a quarterly basis.

Police

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police personnel there were in each police authority area in each of the last four years.

Damian Green: Forces are rising to the challenge of making savings whilst cutting crime and delivering a better service to the public this is shown by police recorded crime being down by more than 10% under this Government.
	The table provided contains police workforce figures (full-time equivalents) for each police force area from March 2010 to March 2013.
	Total police workforce figures are published in the Police Workforce, England and Wales statistical bulletins (previously titled Police Service Strength, England and Wales), which can be found at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-workforce-england-and-wales
	
		
			 Police Workforce(1) (FTE)(2), by police force area. 2009-10 to 2012-13(3, 4) 
			  March 2010 March 2011 March 2012 March 2013 
			 Avon and Somerset 5,603 5,456 5,071 5,008 
			 Bedfordshire 2,243 2,181 2,081 1,986 
			 Cambridgeshire 2,752 2,511 2,401 2,365 
			 Cheshire 3,943 3,721 3,549 3,537 
		
	
	
		
			 Cleveland 2,629 2,068 1,919 1,840 
			 Cumbria 2,175, 2,062 1,930 1,844 
			 Derbyshire 3,614 3,442 3,071 3,032 
			 Devon and Cornwall 5,991 5,750 5,271 5,185 
			 Dorset 2,727 2,633 2,445 2,343 
			 Durham 2,602 2,383 2,271 2,267 
			 Dyfed-Powys 2,006 1,916 1,834 1,860 
			 Essex 6,211 5,992 5,570 5,419 
			 Gloucestershire 2,232 2,159 2,020 1,945 
			 Greater Manchester 13,194 12,494 11,681 11,347 
			 Gwent 2,405 2,467 2,392 2,326 
			 Hampshire 6,519 6,114 5,695 5,737 
			 Hertfordshire 4,069 3,850 3,730 3,606 
			 Humberside 4,029 3,860 3,685 3,560 
			 Kent 6,647 6,500 5,995 5,727 
			 Lancashire 6,034 5,692 5,519 5,308 
			 Leicestershire 3,622 3,599 3,511 3,560 
			 Lincolnshire 2,282 2,218 2,091 1,570 
			 London, City of 1,214 1,259 1,200 1,168 
			 Merseyside 7,236 6,895 6,533 6,233 
			 Metropolitan police 52,764 50,762 48,187 46,130 
			 Norfolk 3,065 2,882 2,778 2,784 
			 Northamptonshire 2,680 2,548 2,302 2,229 
			 Northumbria 6,725 6,546 5,911 5,549 
			 North Wales 2,668 2,559 2,479 2,618 
			 North Yorkshire 2,843 2,691 2,508 2,483 
			 Nottinghamshire 4,335 4,131 3,705 3,633 
			 South Wales 5,466 5,153 4,854 4,912 
			 South Yorkshire 5,684 5,415 5,123 5,135 
			 Staffordshire 3,829 3,597 3,363 3,206 
			 Suffolk 2,390 2,337 2,215 2,192 
			 Surrey 4,205 4,206 4,222 4,165 
			 Sussex 5,775 5,426 5,185 5,125 
			 Thames Valley 7,937 8,019 7,813 7,595 
			 Warwickshire 1,877 1,775 1,545 1,550 
			 West Mercia 4,387 4,183 3,976 3,792 
			 West Midlands 13,104 12,090 11,522 11,120 
			 West Yorkshire 10,065 9,552 6,908 8,583 
			 Wiltshire 2,320 2,164 2,060 2,048 
			 Total 244,497 233,255 220,121 213,620 
			 (1) These police workforce figures include police officers, police community support officers, police staff, designated officers and traffic wardens. These figures exclude contract staff (apart from designated officers). (2.)This table contains full-time equivalent (FTE) figures that have been rounded to the nearest whole number. (3) Police Workforce totals are published within the Police Workforce, England and Wales publications (previously titled Police Service Strength, England and Wales). These figures include any revisions that have been made since publication. (4) Source—Home Office, using data received from police forces via the Annual Data Requirement.

Proceeds of Crime: Wales

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of assets recovered in Wales under the asset recovery incentivisation sheme was used to fund crime-fighting projects in Wales in each of the last three years; and if she will make a statement.

James Brokenshire: The asset recovery incentivisation scheme aims to drive up activity on tackling criminal finances. 50% of recovered criminal assets are returned to the frontline bodies involved, and the other 50% is retained by the Home Office.
	The money returned to front line bodies is not ring-fenced but should be used to increase asset recovery performance and/or be used for crime reduction for the benefit of the community.
	The 50% retained by the Home Office is used to fund front line activity and crime fighting, including in Wales.
	We are aware that across the UK, 94% of the assets recovered is used by frontline bodies to reinvest in financial investigation and asset recovery work, 4% is used in crime reduction and 2% is used in community projects. It is not possible to identify precise proportions of spending on projects in Wales.

Proceeds of Crime: Wales

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much was recovered from Wales through her Department's asset recovery incentivisation scheme in each of the last three years.

James Brokenshire: The total amount recovered from criminals by police forces and local authorities in Wales and by the Environment Agency in Wales is as follows:
	
		
			  £ million 
			 2010-11 4.9 
			 2011-12 3.8 
			 2012-13 3.2 
		
	
	These figures are taken from the Joint Asset Recovery Database. They do not include amounts recovered in Wales by bodies that operate across the UK such as the Serious Fraud Office and the Department for Work and Pensions. This level of detail is not recorded and so it is not possible to determine the amount distributed under the Asset Recovery Incentivisation Scheme to Wales.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

Social Security Benefits: Fraud

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Attorney-General how many people have been prosecuted for committing benefit fraud after being trafficked into the UK in the latest period for which figures are available.

Oliver Heald: Records held by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) identify the number of offences in which a prosecution commenced and reached a first hearing in magistrates courts, rather than the number of defendants prosecuted.
	No. central records of the prosecution outcomes of offences are held by the CPS. To obtain details of the number of people prosecuted for offences of benefit fraud, which can be charged under various sections of the Social Security Administration Act 1992, Section 35 of the Tax Credits Act 2002 or the Fraud Act 2006, including whether they had been trafficked into the UK, would require a manual exercise of reviewing individual case files to be undertaken at a disproportionate cost.
	Furthermore, cases of benefit fraud are also prosecuted by local authorities so any data the CPS can glean from a manual exercise would not provide a complete record.

Visits Abroad

Christopher Leslie: To ask the Attorney-General how many overseas trips, and at what total cost, his Department made in each year since 2010; and what the costs of (a) flights, (b) internal travel, (c) hotel accommodation and (d) subsistence were of each trip.

Oliver Heald: The Attorney-General's Office data for overseas trips are shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Period Number of trips Cost (£) 
			 2010-11(1) 1 1,297 
			 2011-12 10 15,468 
			 2012-13 4 23,236 
			 2013-14(2) 1 14,351 
			 (1) The data for 2010-11 is for the period 13 May to 31 March 2011. (2) The data for 2013-14 is for the period April to June 2013. 
		
	
	The cost includes all costs for flights, internal travel, hotel accommodation and subsistence for ministerial travel and the cost of travel and the cost of travel and accommodation only for officials. To provide a breakdown by each element could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	The data includes those trips which were funded by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office so the cost to the Attorney-General's Office is lower than the costs shown.

WALES

Atos Origin

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much his Department has spent on contracts with Atos in each year since 2008.

Stephen Crabb: The Wales Office does not have any contracts with Atos. The Department uses ATOS services through Ministry of Justice contracts.

EU Law

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales to which EU Directives within his Department's areas of responsibility the Government has formally opted into in each financial year since May 2010; on what dates each such directive was signed; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Crabb: Details of all EU directives that the UK has opted into pursuant to protocol 21 to the treaties on the functioning of the European Union since May 2010 are listed on the Government's JHA opt-in web page. The website can be found at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/206297/2_JHA_opt-in_webpage_update_data v0_1.pdf
	In the Minister for Europe, my right hon. Friend the Member for Aylesbury (Mr Lidington)’s written ministerial statement of 20 January 2011, Official Report, columns 51-52WS, the Government committed to a number of measures to strengthen parliamentary scrutiny of JHA measures, in particular to make written statements to Parliament on each opt-in decision and to set aside Government time for debates in both Houses in circumstances where there is particularly strong parliamentary interest in an opt-in decision.

EU Law

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what EU Directives within his Department's areas of responsibility have come into force without the need for an opt-in decision in each financial year since May 2010; on what dates each such directive came into force; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Crabb: Details of all EU legislation, including full details of all EU directives that have come into force since May 2010, can be found on the Commission's website:
	http://eur-lex.europa.eu/RECH_legislation.do
	The Government's position is that the UK's Justice and Home Affairs opt-in applies to all measures adopted pursuant to title V of part three of the treaty on the functioning of the European Union, as set out in protocol 21 to the treaty on the functioning of the European Union. It follows that the opt-in does not apply to measures adopted that are not pursuant to title V of part three of the treaty on the functioning of the European Union.
	The Wales Office does not have any EU directives within its area of responsibility.

Green Deal Scheme

Paul Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will meet the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change to discuss non-registered providers of the Green Deal in Wales.

Stephen Crabb: I am aware of recent complaints regarding unauthorised companies misusing the Green Deal logo in Wales. The Government takes this very seriously and is working with the Green Deal Oversight and Registration Body, Trading Standards and Citizens Advice to take appropriate action.
	I have raised this matter with my ministerial colleagues in the Department for Energy and Climate Change, and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

M4

Paul Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions he has had with Welsh Ministers on the proposed M4 relief road.

David Jones: I have discussed potential improvements to the M4 around Newport with the First Minister on a number of occasions, most recently on 1 November with the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister. We were pleased to confirm to the First Minister that we will enable the Welsh Government to use its existing borrowing powers to help fund improvements to relieve congestion on this vital route through south Wales.

Older People

Paul Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessment he has made of the implications for his Department's policies of Age Cymru's campaign regarding scams on older people.

Stephen Crabb: The Wales Office is committed to protecting the most vulnerable members of our society and ensuring that the Government does all it can to protect older people from financial scams.
	To support the work of Age Cymru, on 25 November my noble Friend, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales, Baroness Randerson, will be hosting a meeting with stakeholders from across Wales to discuss how we can work together to help reduce older people's exposure to rogue traders and scammers.

Secondment

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many private sector employees have been seconded by the private sector to his Department; what the name was of the company from which they were seconded; and whether any of those employees have worked on drafting legislation.

Stephen Crabb: The Wales Office has no record of any employees having been seconded from the private sector.

Severn River Crossing

Paul Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether he has held discussions with (a) Ministers in the Welsh Government and (b) the Secretary of State for Transport on tolling at the two Severn Bridges.

David Jones: I have discussed tolling at the Severn crossings with both the First Minister and the Welsh Finance Minister, and with ministerial colleagues in the UK Government.
	I understand the concerns regarding the cost of Severn crossings tolls, particularly those of the haulage industry, which were most recently expressed to me when I was in Newport with the Prime Minister on 1 November. I intend to have further discussions with the haulage industry in Wales to explore options to assist them, but the Government has been clear that it will need to continue to toll after the current concession ends in 2018 in order to recover costs incurred by UK taxpayers in relation to the crossings and to fund ongoing maintenance.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

British Overseas Territories

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps she is taking to address the lack of educational facilities in British Overseas Territories.

Alan Duncan: Each of the inhabited Overseas Territories (OTs) has its own educational system and facilities. DFID is responsible for the reasonable assistance needs only of those OTs that are eligible for Official Development Assistance. This includes Montserrat, Pitcairn, and St Helena (of which Tristan da Cunha is legally a constituent part). In each of these four territories, almost all the children between five and 16 years of age are enrolled in school. DFID is meeting more than half of the recurrent costs involved and supporting the Governments to improve the quality of education provided.

Burma

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many women who are victims of rape and sexual violence by armed forces in Burma have received financial assistance from her Department in each of the last two years.

Alan Duncan: Tackling violence against women is a high priority for the UK in Burma. In Kachin state, DFID is providing humanitarian assistance for over 40,000 internally displaced people, of whom 21,000 are female. This assistance includes shelter, food and in certain areas specific support for victims of conflict, including for women affected by sexual violence. In the Burmese refugee camps in Thailand we are providing support to victims of gender-based violence including onward referrals to specialist centres.
	We have agreed to provide funding to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) for two specialists to further strengthen the response to gender-based violence in the conflict-affected areas of Rakhine and Kachin states. We continue to emphasise to the Burmese Government the need to protect all citizens and respect human rights, particularly for women, and the UK has recently approved two new projects to tackle this problem in Burma, under the Foreign Secretary's Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative in conflict situations.

Montserrat

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment her Department has made of the effect of capital investment in Montserrat; and what assessment she has made of the economic benefits of (a) her Department's aid to the island and (b) Montserrat's long-term economic self-sufficiency.

Alan Duncan: The British Government has a long-standing responsibility to meet the reasonable assistance needs of Montserratians and to assist Montserrat to gain economic self-sufficiency, in a cost-effective way. All DFID investments are supported by a business case that includes an assessment of economic benefits, and each is reviewed annually. All of these documents are available on DFID's website.
	DFID assesses the overall impact of its investments in Montserrat annually through detailed review missions which examine progress against budget performance and policy priorities and agree any actions necessary.

Montserrat

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what provision she has made to ensure that the educational budgets afforded to students in Montserrat equal those of students in schools in the UK.

Alan Duncan: The Government of Montserrat maintains its own schools and supports its own students. It uses both local revenues and budgetary aid from DFID to finance the education service. Given the different costs and contexts there is no. requirement that expenditure should equal that of the UK.

Philippines

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what UK, British and European assistance is being organised to assist the people of the Philippines; and if she will make a statement.

Alan Duncan: The British Government has committed over £50 million to assist with the disaster relief efforts currently under way in the Philippines. This includes a pledge to match the first £5 million donated by the public to the Disasters Emergency Appeal and the launch of the UK's Rapid Response Facility, which provides emergency support via pre-approved organisations in the event of a humanitarian disaster overseas. This will ensure leading charities have the resources they need to help victims of the typhoon and make the public's generous donations go even further. This is the first time the Government has match-funded a Disasters Emergency Committee appeal. UK support so far has included:
	the redeployment of HMS Daring and HMS Illustrious to the Philippines to join the aid effort;
	providing over 8,800 temporary shelters and over 95 tonnes of materials, such as bedding, blankets, water purification kits and solar lanterns through the Rapid Response Facility;
	flights delivering 4x4s, forklift trucks and cutting equipment to flood hit areas;
	an Antonov 124 aircraft to provide 100 tonnes of airfield handling equipment to enable offloading of relief supplies at Cebu's other airfields;
	the deployment of a team of 12 NHS staff trained to operate under emergency conditions;
	£30 million to support the UN and Red Cross emergency appeals for the Philippines.
	Other European and international institutions are also responding to the crisis. Our response team on the ground are coordinating with other organisations in order to better target UK aid and reduce duplication of efforts.
	The UN has also activated a Level 3 (highest category) Inter-Agency Standing Committee System Wide response.

Pitcairn Islands

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what (a) current and (b) planned renewable energy there is on the Pitcairn Islands; and what analysis she has made of the cost and benefits of such projects to the (i) Pitcairn Islands and (ii) UK.

Alan Duncan: Currently energy is provided on Pitcairn through a diesel powered generator, which provides electricity for up to 16 hours per day.
	An appraisal of renewable energy solutions for Pitcairn, including the costs and benefits to the island and the UK, will be considered in the next year.

Secondment

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many private sector employees have been seconded by the private sector to her Department; what the name was of the company from which they were seconded; and whether any of those employees have worked on drafting legislation.

Justine Greening: There have been a total of six inward secondments from the following five different private sector organisations since 2011:
	1. GlaxoSmithKline
	2. Ernst and Young
	3. PriceWaterhouseCoopers
	4. Mott MacDonald
	5. Willis Insurance Group.
	None of these inward secondment arrangements required the secondee to work on drafting legislation.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Additives: EU Action

Dai Havard: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent discussions he has had with the Health and Safety Executive on the regulation of azodicarbonimide.

Michael Fallon: Officials in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills are in regular contact with the Health and Safety Executive. This has included discussion of the concerns raised by parts of industry about potential changes to the regulation of azodicarbonamide.

Business Bank

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many times the Board of the Business Bank has met to date.

Michael Fallon: The board of the British Business Bank Ltd met once before the company was re-registered as a public company on 29 October 2013. British Business Bank plc will hold its first formal board meeting in early December; the directors meet frequently to discuss the company's business.

Business Bank

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many commitments have been made to date under the Investment Programme of the Business Bank.

Michael Fallon: Two commitments have been made to date under the Investment Programme of the British Business Bank.
	£30 million of funding has been committed to a fund advised by Praesidian Capital, which will provide senior and subordinated debt finance to smaller UK businesses. At first close the fund size will be £96 million.
	A further £15 million is to be committed to BMS Finance, a specialist finance company focused on lending to smaller UK businesses with high growth potential. At first close the fund size will be £30 million.
	There has in parallel been an increase in lending under the other schemes managed by the Business Bank. Enterprise Finance Guarantee lending, for instance, is up by 17% on the previous year and at its highest level since 2010.

Comet Group

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent progress the Insolvency Service has made on its report on Comet.

Jo Swinson: The inquiries being made by the Insolvency Service have continued to progress, but it is not possible to give any further details because of the restrictions on disclosure surrounding statutory investigations imposed by the Companies Act. The Insolvency Service is fully aware of the importance of completing the investigation expeditiously but that should not compromise its depth and thoroughness.

Conditions of Employment

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will bring forward legislative proposals designed to prevent the ill treatment of workers in sectors where employers and agencies use zero hours and self-employment contract models to transfer cost and risks to workers.

Jo Swinson: The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, my right hon. Friend the Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), has announced that a consultation will take place shortly on zero hours contracts, that will seek views on the issues we have been made aware of following a fact-finding exercise undertaken during the summer. The consultation will seek views on both legislative and non-legislative proposals.
	People engaged on zero hours contracts can be either workers or employees. Self employment is a separate employment status and the self-employed are usually identified by that fact they are in business for themselves, are free to provide a service to multiple clients with far greater control over how, when and by whom the service is delivered. Government has no plans to review this specific employment status.

Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment

Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of progress in implementing the Cape Town Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Fallon: The UK is committed to ratifying the Cape Town Convention on international interests in mobile equipment and the Protocol thereto on matters specific to aircraft equipment. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) continues to work closely with industry representatives on the benefits of ratification.
	I shall be publishing a response to the call for evidence in the near future which will set out the next steps for ratification. The Convention and Protocol on matters specific to aircraft equipment contain a number of options for how the UK implements the treaty. BIS intends to consult industry representatives on these options. In the last few months a cross-department steering board has been established to monitor progress on ratification.
	The Government does not intend to ratify the space protocol as it has been advised by the space industry that a system of protection for creditors already exists. The Government is supportive of the benefits of the rail protocol; however, this is still being negotiated at European level and no decision will be taken whether the UK ratifies the rail protocol until these discussions have concluded.

Copyright: Arts

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills on what date copyright protection for artistic designs made before 1 June 1957 will be extended; and for what reason this extension has been delayed.

Jo Swinson: Artistic designs made before 1 June 1957 may be in copyright if they are in copyright in another EU member state.
	The Government understands that some artistic works created before 1 June 1957, where the work was also a design, may attract copyright protection by virtue of the Term Directive (2006/116/EC). If a work of artistic craftsmanship were protected by copyright in any EU member state on 1 July 1995, then it would be protected in the UK.
	However, if copyright does exist in such a work, this will then be extended on a date to be determined by the current consultation process.
	If a work is not in copyright, there are no plans to create new copyright in these works.

Copyright: Arts

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills when he plans to bring into force section 74 of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013.

Jo Swinson: The Government intends to lay secondary legislation to bring section 74 of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 into force once it has concluded the consultation process on transitional provisions. The date of coming into force is the main issue for consultation.
	A “Call for Evidence” on the timing of the repeal of section 52 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act is currently under way, and more information can be found at:
	http://www.ipo.gov.uk/pro-policy/consult/consult-live/ consult-2013-s52.htm

Departmental Responsibilities

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills on what dates since May 2010 his departmental board has met and which (a) ministers and (b) non-executive directors were in attendance on each occasion.

Jo Swinson: The following table details the dates of BIS Departmental Boards and ministerial and non-executive attendance since the creation of the Board in January 2011.
	
		
			  Attendance 
			 Meeting Date Ministers Non Executive Board Members 
			 2011   
			 27 January 2011 right hon. Dr Vince Cable MP—Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills right hon. David Willetts MP—Minister of State for Universities and Science Mark Prisk MP—Minister of State for Business and Enterprise Andrew Witty Dr Brian Woods-Scawen Prof Julia King 
			  right hon. Dr Vince Cable MP—Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills right hon. David Willetts MP—Minister for Universities and Science Lord Stephen Green—Minister of State for Trade and Investment Edward Davey MP—Minister for Employment Relations, Consumers and Postal Affairs Mark Prisk MP—Minister of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulation Andrew Witty Dr Brian Woods-Scawen Prof Julia King 
			 31 March 2011 right hon. Dr Vince Cable MP—Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills Mark Prisk MP—Minister of State for Business and Enterprise Edward Davey MP—Minister for Employment Relations, Consumer and Postal Affairs right hon. David Willetts MP—Minister of State For Universities And Science Andrew Witty Dr Brian Woods-Scawen Prof Julia King 
			 24 May 2011 right hon. Dr Vince Cable MP—Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills Edward Davey MP—Minister for Employment Relations, Consumer and Postal Affairs Mark Prisk MP—Minister of State for Business and Enterprise right hon. David Willetts MP—Minister of State for Universities and Science Andrew Witty Prof Julia King 
			 19 July 2011 right hon. Dr Vince Cable MP—Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills right hon. David Willetts MP—Minister of State for Universities and Science Edward Davey MP—Minister for Employment Relations, Consumer and Postal Affairs Andrew Witty Prof Julia King 
			 29 November 2011 right hon. David Willetts MP—Minister of State for Universities and Science Mark Prisk MP—Minister of State for Business and Enterprise Lord Stephen Green—Minister of State for Trade and Investment Prof Julia King 
			    
			 2012   
			 29 February 2012 right hon. David Willetts MP—Minister of State for Universities and Science right hon. Greg Clark MP—Minister of State for Decentralisation and Cities Lord Stephen Green—Minister of State for Trade and Investment Sir Andrew Witty Alan Aubrey Prof Julia King Dalton Philips 
			 17 April 2012 right hon. Vince Cable MP—Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills right hon. David Willetts MP—Minister of State for Universities and Science Mark Prisk MP—Minister of State for Business and Enterprise Sir Andrew Witty Prof Julia King Alan Aubrey 
		
	
	
		
			 25 June 2012 right hon. Dr Vince Cable MP—Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills right hon. David Willetts MP—Minister of State for Universities and Science Lord Stephen Green—Minister of State for Trade and Investment Sir Andrew Witty Prof Julia King Alan Aubrey 
			 28 June 2012 right hon. Dr Vince Cable MP—Secretary of State for Innovation, Business and Skills right hon. David Willetts MP—Minister of State for Universities and Science right hon. Michael Fallon MP—Minister of State for Business and Enterprise Lord Stephen Green—Minister of State for Trade and Investment Sir Andrew Witty Alan Aubrey Dalton Philips Prof Dame Julia King 
			 22 November 2012 right hon. Dr Vince Cable MP—Secretary of State for Innovation, Business and Skills right hon. David Willetts MP—Minister of State for Universities and Science right hon. Michael Fallon MP—Minister of State for Business and Enterprise Lord Stephen Green—Minister of State for Trade and Investment Jo Swinson MP—Minister for Employment Relations and Consumer Affairs Sir Andrew Witty Alan Aubrey Dalton Philips Prof Dame Julia King Dale Murray 
			    
			 2013   
			 21 January 2013 right hon. Dr Vince Cable MP—Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills right hon. David Willetts MP—Minister of State for Universities and Science right hon. Michael Fallon MP—Minister of State for Business and Enterprise Sir Andrew Witty Alan Aubrey Dalton Philips Prof Dame Julia King Dale Murray 
			 11 February 2013 right hon. Dr Vince Cable MP—Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills right hon. David Willetts MP—Minister of State for Universities and Science Sir Andrew Witty Prof Dame Julia King Dale Murray 
			 18 April 2013 right hon. Dr Vince Cable MP—Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills right hon. David Willetts MP—Minister of State for Universities and Science Lord Stephen Green—Minister of State for Trade and Investment Sir Andrew Witty Prof Dame Julia King Alan Aubrey Dale Murray 
			 18 June 2013 right hon. Dr Vince Cable MP—Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills right hon. David Willetts MP—Minister of State for Universities and Science Lord Stephen Green—Minister of State for Trade and Investment Sir Andrew Witty Prof Dame Julia King Alan Aubrey Dale Murray

Directors

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what work his Department's non-executive directors have undertaken for his Department in addition to attendance at departmental board meetings.

Jo Swinson: Outside of the Departmental Board, the BIS Non-Executive Board Members (NEBMs) spend up to two days a month providing support and challenge on departmental priorities. Their external expertise has informed policy and strategy development and the management of the Department and partner organisations. They have provided independent input into particular topics; Dalton Philips has been working with the Department on how we can be most efficient with our spending and Sir Andrew Witty has reviewed the role universities can play in supporting growth. NEBMs have contributed to triennial reviews of our partner organisations and have driven discussions on making processes as effective as possible; for example in the area of financial controls, and performance reporting.
	NEBMs chair the Department's Nominations and Governance and Audit and Risk Committees, and meet with the Executive regularly to review departmental performance. The lead non-Executive reviews the Departmental Board's effectiveness annually and provides a statement on performance in the annual report and accounts.

Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the preparation for the introduction of early conciliation as legislated for in the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013; and if he will make a statement.

Jo Swinson: Officials in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), HMCTS and Acas are working closely to ensure that early conciliation will be implemented in April 2014. We consulted on some of the operational detail of how early conciliation will work in practice earlier this year, and it is our intention to publish the regulations in early 2014, so all parties have adequate time to familiarise themselves with the changes that early conciliation will introduce, and to prepare accordingly.
	BIS internal audit recently carried out a review of Acas's scenario planning work for the implementation of early conciliation and produced a favourable report.

Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013

Stephen Pound: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills when he intends to implement the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013.

Jo Swinson: Certain provisions of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act came into force on Royal Assent on 25 April 2013. Some provisions were brought in automatically two months after Royal Asset, on 25 June 2013. There have been three commencement orders, and one amendment commencement order, since then bringing further specific provisions of the Act into force. A table showing what has already been commenced and the intentions for the remaining provisions is available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/enterprise-and-regulatory-reform-act-2013-a-guide

EU External Trade: USA

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 12 November 2013, Official Report, column 598W, on EU external trade: USA, if he will place in the Library the minutes of the meeting between officials from his Department and the EU Chief Negotiator that took place on 31 October 2013.

Michael Fallon: The Government does not believe it would be appropriate to publish minutes of the meeting, as disclosure could harm the frankness and candour of future negotiations.
	The Government is however committed to keeping Parliament up to date throughout the negotiations for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. Lord Green writes to the chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on EU-US trade and investment and the European Scrutiny Committee chairs of both Houses to update on significant developments. We will also consider statements and other steps to keep Parliament informed of developments as the negotiations progress.

EU Law

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills to which EU directives within his Department's areas of responsibility the Government has formally opted into in each financial year since May 2010; on what dates each such directive was signed; and if he will make a statement.

Jo Swinson: Details of all EU directives that the UK has opted into pursuant to Protocol 21 to the Treaties on the Functioning of the European Union since May 2010 are listed on the Government's JHA opt-in web page.
	The website can be found at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/206297/2_JHA_opt-in_webpage_update_-_data_v0_1.pdf
	In the written ministerial statement given by the Minister for Europe, the right hon. Member for Aylesbury (Mr Lidington) on 20 January 2011, Official Report, columns 51-52WS, the Government committed to a number of measures to strengthen parliamentary scrutiny of JHA measures, in particular to make written statements to Parliament on each opt-in decision and to set aside Government time for debates in both Houses in circumstances where there is particularly strong parliamentary interest in an opt-in decision.

EU Law

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what EU directives within his Department's areas of responsibility have come into force without the need for an opt-in decision in each financial year since May 2010; on what dates each such directive came into force; and if he will make a statement.

Jo Swinson: Details of all EU legislation, including full details of all EU directives that have come into force since May 2010, can be found on the European Commission's website:
	http://eur-lex.europa.eu/RECH_legislation.do
	The Government's position is that the UK's Justice and Home Affairs opt-in applies to all measures adopted pursuant to Title V of Part Three of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, as set out in Protocol 21 to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. It follows that the opt-in does not apply to measures adopted that are not pursuant to Title V of Part Three of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.

Foreign Investment in UK

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what targets UK Trade and Investment has for regional inward investment to the (a) UK and (b) North East.

Michael Fallon: UK Trade & Investment has a national target of supporting 1,100 investment projects during 2013-14. UK Trade & Investment does not have individual targets for regions of the UK.

Higher Education: Admissions

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he has taken to ensure that students are not deterred from higher education on financial grounds.

David Willetts: For the 2013/14 academic year, eligible English domiciled full-time higher education students are able to apply for tuition loans of up to £9,000 (or up to £6,000 at privately-funded universities). Part-time students are able to apply for tuition loans of up to £6,750 (or up to £4,500 at privately-funded universities).
	A comprehensive package of living costs support is also available to full-time students, including means-tested non-repayable maintenance grants of up to £3,354, and partly means-tested maintenance loans of up to £5,500 (up to £7,675 for students living away from home and studying in London; and up to £4,375 for students living at home).
	Extra financial support is available to full-time students with children or other dependants—through childcare grants, parents' learning allowances and adult dependants' grants. These grants are income assessed and do not have to be repaid.
	Disabled students allowances are also available to help full-time and part-time students with the extra costs they may incur on their course because of a disability, health condition or specific learning difficulty. These are not income assessed and do not have to be repaid.
	Data published by UCAS show the proportion of 18-year-olds from the most disadvantaged backgrounds applying to university for entry in the 2013/14 academic year has increased to the highest level ever recorded.

Hotcourses

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many contracts his Department has awarded to Hotcourses Ltd since May 2010; and what the (a) purpose, (b) monetary value and (c) net worth was of each contract.

Jo Swinson: Core BIS has not awarded any contracts to Hotcourses Ltd since May 2010.

Insolvency

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills with reference to the statement of 20 December 2012, Official Report, column 989WS, on business bank, what recent steps he has taken to (a) examine the regulatory system for insolvency and how it can be improved and (b) review whether better practices can be adopted more broadly; whether that system is being examined separately and beyond the scope of the Insolvency Service's review of the Comet case.

Jo Swinson: The UK insolvency regime is highly regarded internationally, ranked seventh in the world by the World bank. The Government is committed to further improving the performance of our insolvency procedures and confidence in the regulatory framework.
	We have recently introduced a new single complaints gateway for anyone making a complaint against an insolvency practitioner and common disciplinary guidelines for use by the Recognised Professional Bodies.
	As part of our consultation on "Transparency and Trust" we have been consulting on measures to strengthen the regime for director misconduct. Working together with interested parties we have identified a large number of measures under our Red Tape Challenge to reduce costs without removing necessary protections, which we will bring forward when legislative time permits. We have included measures in the Deregulation Bill currently the subject of pre-legislative scrutiny before Parliament, including facilitating bank accounts for bankrupts.
	An independent review is being conducted of prepack Administrations and the Insolvency Service has recently worked closely with interested parties to improve SIP16, the mandatory reporting standard for pre-packs. We are also considering a review by Professor Elaine Kempson on insolvency practitioner fees.

Land Registry

George Galloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what action his Department has taken to stop unofficial websites defrauding customers seeking to make payments to the Land Registry through the official Land Registry website by purporting to be Government websites.

Michael Fallon: Land Registry are aware there are a number of websites selling their information. They keep an active log recording sites where complaints are received that are infringing their trademarks or confusing the public by passing themselves off as an official Government website.
	Land Registry's actions has resulted in changes being made to some of these websites and two have been closed down by the UK internet governing body which agreed the companies had infringed the use of Land Registry's domain name.

Minimum Wage

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the integrity of the national minimum wage in the (a) retail, (b) care and (c) construction sectors.

Jo Swinson: The Government is committed to the national minimum wage and its effective enforcement. We are absolutely clear that anyone entitled to be paid the minimum wage should receive it.
	Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) investigates every complaint made through the free and confidential Pay and Work Rights Helpline. If workers feel they aren't getting the minimum wage that they are legally entitled to then they should contact the free and confidential Pay and Work Rights Helpline on 0800 917 2368. Employers can also call the helpline if they are unsure of their obligations.
	In addition, HMRC conducts risk-based enforcement in sectors or areas, such as apprenticeships, where there is a higher risk of workers not getting paid the legal minimum wage.
	Since 2011 HMRC have conducted national minimum wage (NMW) inquiries into over 200 care sector employers, including targeted enforcement at c.40 of the larger residential care providers and c.40 of the larger home care providers. A full project evaluation of NMW compliance in the social care sector has been carried out by HMRC which will be published shortly.
	The National Minimum Wage Interim Government Evidence for the Low Pay Commission's 2014 report contains more detail on Government's compliance and enforcement activity in the retail, care and construction sectors and can be found at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/250104/bis-13-P157-nmw-interim-gov-evidence-lpc-2014-report-REVISED-2.pdf

Post Offices

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many new post office branches opened in each year from 2009-10 to 2012-13.

Jo Swinson: The information requested is an operational matter for Post Office Ltd. I have therefore asked Paula Vennells, chief executive officer of Post Office Ltd, to reply to the hon. Member directly, and a copy will be placed in the Libraries of the House. However, I would note that the Government is providing £1.34 billion over the course of this Parliament to ensure a post office network of at least 11,500 branches, compliant with the Government-set access criteria, is maintained, and that the network, as a whole, is at its most stable for two decades.

Post Offices

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many post office branches closed in each year since 2009-10.

Jo Swinson: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to question 175553 that I am answering today. The Government is providing £1.34 billion over the course of this Parliament to ensure that a post office network of at least 11,500 branches that complies with the Government-set access criteria is maintained. The network, as a whole, is at its most stable for two decades.

Post Offices

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many post office branches were open in (a) 2011-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13.

Jo Swinson: The Government is providing £1.34 billion over the course of this Parliament to ensure that a post office network of at least 11,500 branches that complies with the Government-set access criteria is maintained. I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 18 November 2013, Official Report, column 665W. That shows the network, as a whole, is at its most stable for two decades.

Post Offices: Closures

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many post office branches closed in (a) 2009-10, (b) 2010-11, (c) 2011-12 and (d) 2012-13.

Jo Swinson: At the end of March 2013 there were 11,780 post offices as part of the nationwide network of branches.
	The net closure figures shown in the following table for the four years 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13 reflect the position at the end of each financial year and predominantly reflect branches which have closed on a temporary basis for a variety of reasons. Where a post office closes on a temporary basis for operational reasons beyond its control, Post Office Ltd makes extensive efforts to identify a suitable applicant or alternative ways of re-establishing service.
	
		
			  Net closures 
			 2009-10 47 
			 2010-11 85 
			 2011-12 2 
			 2012-13 38 
		
	
	Comparative figures for the previous four years which include permanent closures under the Government-funded Network Change programme in 2007-08 and 2008-09 are:
	
		
			  Net closures 
			 2005-06 233 
			 2006-07 157 
			 2007-08 652 
			 2008-09 1,615

Public Houses: Closures

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what his most recent estimate is of the number of pubs which have closed in 2013-14 to date.

Jo Swinson: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Poole (Mr Syms), on 18 November 2013, Official Report, column 665W. The Government does not compile statistics on pub closures and has made no estimate of the number of pubs that have closed.

TNT Post

Peter Hain: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what publicly-funded financial assistance TNT Post UK received in connection with its postal operation in the M postcode in Greater Manchester; and for what purposes such assistance was provided.

Jo Swinson: TNT Post UK has not received any public funding in support of setting up its new postal operation in the M postcode in Greater Manchester.
	The company has been working with MIDAS (Greater Manchester's inward investment agency) and other local agencies to locate appropriate properties in and around Manchester and to fill job vacancies for its postal operation from among the long term and youth unemployed in the region.

Trade Promotion

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps UK Trade and Investment is taking to use diaspora links to promote trade development; and how best practice on such use is shared and promoted throughout the UK.

Michael Fallon: UK Trade and Investment's (UKTI) regional teams throughout the UK are working closely with diaspora communities to maximise the opportunities for trade in overseas markets. Activities include diaspora community specific seminars, workshops, and forums with bodies representing these communities. For instance, in the Yorkshire and Humber Region the UKTI team have been working with the Yorkshire Asian Business Association, an organisation that connects and assists fast growing Asian businesses in the region.
	UKTI regional teams are also working with leading business owners from diaspora groups in the UK to help promote trade. In addition, during the Prime Minister's visit to India last week, he announced my hon. Friend the Member for Witham (Priti Patel) as a UK-India diaspora champion. Work is ongoing to draw on the experience of the Indian diaspora, and the Prime Minister included members of the diaspora in the UK as part of his trade delegation in his visit to India in February.
	UKTI is regularly collating information on the activities of its regional teams in engaging with these communities and sharing this across its regional network to ensure knowledge and best practice is then incorporated in its outreach and promotional efforts.

Trade Promotion

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how UK Trade and Investment consults regional bodies on the composition of trade delegations.

Michael Fallon: UK Trade and Investment discusses with regional partners potential candidates for trade delegations; the make-up of specific delegations depends on their objectives, who is leading them, sectoral focus, and the market which they are visiting.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

EU Law

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what EU Directives within his Department's areas of responsibility have come into force without the need for an opt-in decision in each financial year since May 2010; on what dates each such directive came into force; and if he will make a statement.

David Lidington: Details of all EU legislation, including full details of all EU Directives that have come into force since May 2010, can be found on the Commission's website:
	http://eur-lex.europa.eu/RECH_legislation.do
	The Government's position is that the UK's Justice and Home Affairs opt-in applies to all measures adopted pursuant to Title V of Part Three of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, as set out in Protocol 21 to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. It follows that the opt-in does not apply to measures adopted that are not pursuant to Title V of Part Three of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.

Falkland Islands

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what communications he has had with his Argentinean counterpart on their opposition to oil drilling around the Falkland Islands; and what steps he is taking to prevent illegal interference in this matter.

Hugo Swire: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), has not spoken directly to the Argentine Foreign Minister on this issue. In February 2013 the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, and representatives of the Falkland Islands Government, offered to meet with Mr Timerman to discuss issues of mutual interest in the South Atlantic, including hydrocarbons. This meeting was declined.
	Attempts by Argentina to target commercial activities in the Falklands have no basis in law. Argentina’s domestic legislation has no applicability to the Falkland Islands and its surrounding waters, where Falklands and UK law has jurisdiction. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) formally protested in June 2011 when the legislation was introduced and we continue to register our fundamental disagreement with such laws each time the matter is raised.
	The FCO remains in close contact with companies involved in the Falklands hydrocarbons industry and their confidence in operations remains high. We are unaware of any such companies withdrawing from the Falklands under Argentine pressure, and there has been no practical interference by third parties in their ongoing activities.

Gibraltar: Spain

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received on border checks from Spain across the border into Gibraltar; and what estimate he has made of how long such delays will last.

David Lidington: Unreasonable delays at the Gibraltar-Spain border are continuing to affect peoples' lives on a near-daily basis. We monitor the situation closely and we are maintaining diplomatic pressure on the Spanish Government to reduce the delays. We welcome the fact that the Commission has put Spain on notice, by making clear recommendations to improve the functioning of the border, and we fully expect Spain to act on these recommendations. We have encouraged Spain to publish their letter from the Commission, as we have done, in the interests of transparency. The Commission is clearly still concerned by the situation, as it has committed to remain engaged and follow-up in six months, has reserved the right to reconsider its position, and has explicitly offered the possibility of a further visit to the border.

Human Rights

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many countries have been on his Department's Human rights Country of Concern list for longer than 10 years.

David Lidington: The Countries of Concern list featured for the first time in the 2005 Annual Human Rights Report. Therefore no countries have been on that list for longer than 10 years.
	However, the Annual Report reporting on individual countries in 2000, in a chapter named “Challenges and Progress”. Individual countries on the current Countries of Concern list, which have featured in our Annual Report for longer than 10 years, are the following: Afghanistan, Burma, China, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iran, Iraq, Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Saudi Arabia and Zimbabwe.

Maldives

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his counterparts in (a) EU member states, (b) Commonwealth countries and (c) members of the UN Security Council about the situation in the Maldives.

Hugo Swire: The UK, together with the international community, has monitored closely the recent political instability in the Maldives and delays to the electoral process. The second round of elections took place on 16 November. The winner, President Yameen, is now in place. I visited the Maldives on 18 November and met the new Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dunya Maumoon, to discuss the UK's continued support for democracy in the Maldives. It is now important that the new Government and the opposition work together constructively in the interests of all Maldivians and to avoid any acts of recrimination or retribution.
	Prior to my visit to Mali, I discussed the situation in the Maldives with our Commonwealth partners in the margins of the recent Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Colombo. The situation in the Maldives has also been closely monitored by the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG), who last substantively discussed the situation on 13 November.
	In the EU, the Maldives was last discussed at the Council of the EU's Asia-Oceania Working Party (COASI) on 13 November. The EU High Representative also raised her concerns on the delay to elections at the EU Foreign Affairs.

Secondment

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many private sector employees have been seconded by the private sector to his Department; what the name was of the company from which they were seconded; and whether any of those employees have worked on drafting legislation.

Hugh Robertson: During the period 1 January 2012 to 1 November 2013, there were five employees seconded to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The organisations from which they were seconded were Thames Valley Police; Sussex University, Queen's University Belfast, Financial Service Authority and National Nuclear Laboratories.
	Separately an employee of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP International Law firm has been loaned pro bono to work in a non legal capacity.
	None of these employees were involved in drafting legislation.

TRANSPORT

Cycling

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to monitor local authority support for cycling; and if he will publish the results of such monitoring.

Robert Goodwill: The Department for Transport does not monitor local authority support for cycling. The extent to which a local authority prioritises cycling is a matter for themselves and their electorate. However the Department encourages local authorities to monitor cycle projects funded through the Local Sustainable Transport Fund and Cycling Ambition Grants. All of these projects submit outputs reports to the Department. Results for the Local Sustainable Transport Fund are published annually here:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-sustainable-transport-fund-annual-report-2011-to-2012

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency

George Galloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent steps his Department has taken to stop unofficial websites misleading people wishing to make payment through the official DVLA website.

Robert Goodwill: The Department has issued a number of communications to make the public aware that gov.uk is the first stop for all motoring services, and warning that other websites may charge additional fees. News stories on the DVLA pages of gov.uk have been supported by regular use of Twitter. Although the Office of Fair Trading has ruled that websites which charge additional fees are not acting illegally, the Government will continue to investigate reports of organisations which may be actively misleading users about their services.

Driving Offences: Insurance

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the contribution by the hon. Member for North East Cambridgeshire of 10 June 2013, Official Report, column 102, what steps he is taking to increase enforcement by the DVLA of non-insured foreign vehicles that have been in the UK for more than six months.

Robert Goodwill: All vehicles on UK roads are required under EU law to have at least third party insurance, even if they are temporary visitors. Once a foreign vehicle has been based in the UK permanently or for 185 days in any calendar year, it will need to be re-registered. It would require insurance with a UK insurer and the details of that policy would be included on the Motor Insurance Database. The vehicle would then be subject to continuous insurance enforcement (CIE) to tackle uninsured driving.
	The DVLA is currently working with the police, UK Border Force and local authorities to develop a robust compliance and enforcement process to deal with vehicle keepers who refuse to comply with UK registration and licensing rules.

East Coast Railway Line

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much has been spent on preparing the new InterCity East Coast franchise for tendering to date; and what estimate he has made of the overall cost of the East Coast refranchising programme by February 2015.

Stephen Hammond: Since the Franchising Programme was restarted in spring 2013, spend to date on the InterCity East Coast Franchise project totals £1.89 million. The project is forecast to cost £5 million to £6 million to February 2015. This is in line with the expected costs of other franchising projects taking into account recommendations made in Richard Brown's Review into Rail Franchising. The actual spend will be published annually in our departmental accounts.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Christopher Pincher: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions HS2 Ltd has had with (a) relevant local authorities and (b) Lichfield District Council on the relocation of residents and those properties affected by High Speed 2; and if he will make a statement.

Robert Goodwill: HS2 Ltd has had discussions with the London Borough of Camden (LBC) about options for relocating residents in social rented accommodation directly affected by the scheme. It has also met Birmingham City Council (BCC), to discuss similar issues, and to discuss whether residents of a Traveller Site affected by the scheme may require relocation.
	HS2 Ltd has met Lichfield District Council about the proposal by HS2 Ltd to demolish a cluster of rural properties in Knox's Grave Lane. The purpose of this one meeting was to establish what Lichfield District Council's position was on the proposal by some local residents to build a replacement group of houses elsewhere within the District, and establish what role the Council would expect HS2 Ltd to have in any planning application by the residents to do this.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Christopher Pincher: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions HS2 Ltd has had with (a) local authorities and (b) Lichfield District Council concerning the purchase and demolition of properties in (i) England and (ii) Lichfield District which may be required by HS2 Ltd.

Robert Goodwill: HS2 Ltd has had a number of discussions with local authorities along the whole line of route to discuss the general powers the nominated undertaker will exercise to compulsorily purchase and demolish properties.
	HS2 Ltd has met Lichfield District Council about the proposal by HS2 Ltd to demolish a cluster of rural properties in Knox's Grave Lane. The purpose of this one meeting was to establish what Lichfield District Council's position was on the proposal by some local residents to build a replacement group of houses elsewhere within the District, and establish what role the Council would expect HS2 Ltd to have in any planning application by the residents to do this.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Christopher Pincher: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make funds available to compensate individuals whose communities are affected by High Speed 2 and whose homes are being purchased by HS2 Ltd before HS2 Ltd serves a blight notice.

Robert Goodwill: The Government and HS2 Ltd continues to place a very high priority on mitigating the effects that building a new railway will bring. We are committed to fairly compensate those whose property is directly affected by the HS2 project.
	The Government has introduced discretionary Exceptional Hardship Schemes (EHS) for properties affected by both Phases of the railway.
	Safeguarding directions have also been issued for Phase One to protect the route from conflicting development. This also triggers the statutory blight and compensation regime for property owners within the safeguarding area.
	The Phase One Property Compensation Consultation, which proposes a long term package of discretionary compensation measures, is running until 4 December.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many properties which have made applications to the HS2 Exceptional Hardship Scheme have not yet received any offers while they have been advertised on the open market.

Robert Goodwill: 342 out of 467 applications for the Exceptional Hardship Scheme for Phase One of HS2 did not receive offers while the subject property was on the open market. 28 out of 49 applications for the equivalent Phase Two scheme did not receive offers while the subject property was on the open market.
	Statistics are compiled from information received from applicants and estate agents. For these purposes, HS2 Ltd treat reapplications to the scheme as separate new applications, so offers made on properties whose owners have applied more than once to the scheme have been counted more than once. The total number of applications excludes those where properties were not placed on the open market. The total number of applications for Phase One excludes those that were withdrawn by the applicant or were transferred to the Phase Two scheme.

Large Goods Vehicles

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 24 October 2013, Official Report, column 255W, on large goods vehicles, for what reason the Government considers that the demonstration of longer semi-trailers for articulated goods organised by his own Department on 27 June 2013 was not representative.

Stephen Hammond: The longer semi-trailer that was used in the demonstration in June uses one of several steering types available to over 30 different models of trailer in the trial. It was, therefore, not representative of the full range of vehicles in the trial.
	The longer semi-trailer trial is first and foremost a research trial. We are monitoring all the different trailer types in the trial in order to assess their performance in the real world. All of the longer semi-trailers must comply with the manoeuvrability requirements set out in national construction and use legislation and so are able to match the actual performance of existing semi-trailers and are suitable for use on the road. Indeed, some longer semi-trailers have an outswing of only 250mm which is equivalent to, or less than, a 13.6m standard sized semi-trailer or a standard length bus.

Manchester-Burnley Railway Line

Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to ensure the provision of rolling stock on the Manchester to Burnley rail line as soon as it is completed.

Stephen Hammond: Department for Transport (DFT) are working with Northern Rail to develop the train service that will operate on the Manchester to Burnley route in 2014 following completion of the Todmorden curve. Northern Rail is currently working on a proposal that they will submit to the DFT for consideration. This will include options for the provision of diesel rolling stock to be used on the line. Their proposal may include diesel stock released from the electrified route between Liverpool and Manchester.

Motorcycles: Driving Tests

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many motorcycle tests were completed with the assessor operating from (a) an alongside motorcycle and (b) a car in each year since 2010.

Stephen Hammond: The number of motorcycle tests that were completed with the examiner operating from (a) an alongside motorcycle (motorcycle to motorcycle) and (b) a car (car to motorcycle) in each year since 2010 are:
	
		
			  Motorcycle to motorcycle Car to motorcycle Not recorded 
			 2010 38,365 6,004 6,263 
			 2011 52,199 3,144 3,144 
			 2012 56,407 8,719 2,920

Night Flying

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the statement of 11 November 2013, Official Report, columns 29-30WS, on night flying restrictions, what weight he gave to the views of local communities in his consideration of responses to the first stage consultation.

Robert Goodwill: We have published a summary of responses to the first stage consultation alongside our second consultation. The document acknowledges that the vast majority of members of the public and community groups who responded to the first stage consultation wished to see an immediate or phased ban on night flights. However, we are not proposing changes to night movement limits at this time as we believe that possible changes to these limits are something which should be considered in the context of any recommendations from the Airports Commission and decisions on the future operational capacity of these airports.

Railways

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he intends to make an announcement on the devolution of Northern and Transpennine rail services.

Stephen Hammond: The Government remains committed to further decentralisation of decision making on rail service provision. Taken forward in the right way, enabling decisions on rail services to be made at a local level could increase local accountability, benefit passengers and help stimulate economic growth by lowering costs and improving efficiency.
	We are discussing with the leaders of Rail North the best way forward in relation to decentralisation decision making on these franchises following their submission in October. This submission was a comprehensive and ambitious final proposal for full devolution of decision making on both franchises to a consortium of 33 northern local transport authorities from the start of the replacement franchises in 2016. We expect to make a decision on the way forward early in 2014.

Railways: Finance

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the Government will be making additional payments to train operating companies following the lowering of flex to two per cent in 2014.

Stephen Hammond: As this measure is a change to the fares model on which franchise agreements are based, the Government is required to adjust levels of franchise compensation accordingly. The amount paid will be determined through negotiations with train operators.

Railways: Standards

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions his Department had with the Office of Rail Regulation on the lowering of punctuality targets on the East Coast and West Coast main lines.

Stephen Hammond: Regulatory targets have been set by the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) for Network Rail regarding punctuality on West Coast and East Coast services by 2019, as part of the ORR's Final Determination for the Control Period 2014-19.
	Following its consultation with user groups and the rail industry on its Draft Determination, the ORR concluded that it should both lower the Public Performance Measure (PPM) targets it had initially proposed for punctuality for long distance services and toughen the corresponding targets for cancellations and significant lateness (CaSL). This reflected customers' and operators' views that long-distance rail users are particularly disadvantaged by serious lateness and cancellations. In ORR's view, it was sensible to rebalance targets to focus on these areas of particular concern. The revised targets are at least as challenging for Network Rail to deliver as the original PPM targets.

Secondment

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many private sector employees have been seconded by the private sector to his Department; what the name was of the company from which they were seconded; and whether any of those employees have worked on drafting legislation.

Stephen Hammond: There are currently less than five private sector employees who have been seconded from the private sector in to the Department for Transport. Given the very small numbers involved in the request, detailed breakdown of secondments by individual organisation and their work remit cannot be provided.

Severn River Crossing: Tolls

Paul Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he plans to abolish tolls on the two Severn bridges when the repayment of debt on them is complete.

Robert Goodwill: The Government is committed to the continued successful operation of these vital crossings. No decisions have been taken on future management or tolling arrangements on the crossings after the end of the current concession. However, the Government has been clear that there will be some outstanding costs that it has incurred relating to the crossings that need to be recovered. Any future arrangements will also need to make proper provision for future maintenance of these important crossings and reflect the needs of road users in both England and Wales.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Aviation

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether she has had discussions with the Northern Ireland Executive about the potential effects on Northern Ireland of an increase in the number of runways at Heathrow.

Andrew Robathan: The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, my right hon. Friend the Member for Chipping Barnet (Mrs Villiers), has regular discussions with Northern Ireland Executive Ministers about transport links between Northern Ireland and Heathrow airport, but the matter of an increase in the number of runways has not been raised.

Aviation

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what representations she has made to the Davies Commission on long-term airport capacity needs.

Andrew Robathan: The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, my right hon. Friend the Member for Chipping Barnet (Mrs Villiers), and I take a close interest in all matters relating to air connectivity with Northern Ireland but the Department for Transport will take the lead in this matter on behalf of Her Majesty's Government. I hope that the Department for Regional Development and Department for Enterprise, Trade and Investment will make representations to the Commission to ensure that Northern Ireland's circumstances can be taken fully into account.

Aviation

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of the air connectivity of Northern Ireland with London.

Andrew Robathan: The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, my right hon. Friend the Member for Chipping Barnet (Mrs Villiers), discusses these matters from time to time with Northern Ireland Executive Ministers, none of whom have expressed dissatisfaction in respect of air connectivity between Northern Ireland and London. It is currently possible to fly from each of the six London airports to Belfast with the exception of London City.

Marriage

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what discussions she has had with the (a) Prime Minister, (b) Deputy Prime Minister, (c) First Minister of Northern Ireland and (d) Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland on the timetable for the introduction of equal marriage in Northern Ireland; and if she will make a statement.

Andrew Robathan: Marriage law is devolved in Northern Ireland, however neither the First Minister nor the Deputy First Minister have raised the matter of equal marriage with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, my right hon. Friend the Member for Chipping Barnet (Mrs Villiers).
	The Northern Ireland Assembly passed a legislative consent motion concerning the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill, on 24 June 2013 which will allow same-sex marriages conducted in England and Wales to be recognised as civil partnerships in Northern Ireland.

Secondment

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many private sector employees have been seconded by the private sector to her Department; what the name was of the company from which they were seconded; and whether any of those employees have worked on drafting legislation.

Andrew Robathan: No private sector employees have been seconded to my Department.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Affordable Housing: Hampshire

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much funding his Department has allocated to (a) Portsmouth South constituency and (b) Hampshire local authority to construct social housing since May 2010.

Kris Hopkins: The Department does not collect data on parliamentary constituency areas.
	£14.5 million has been allocated to the Portsmouth area from the 2011-15 Affordable Homes Programme for delivery of 720 new affordable homes. In addition, £1.8 million has been allocated to the Portsmouth area through the Affordable Homes Guarantees Programme to deliver 103 new affordable homes.
	£139.8 million has been allocated to the Hampshire area from the 2011-15 Affordable Homes Programme for delivery of 6,896 new affordable homes. In addition, £103 million has been allocated to the Hampshire area through the Affordable Homes Guarantees Programme to deliver 788 new affordable homes.
	I would note that the Government's £4.5 billion of public investment in affordable housing over 2011-15 across England is being accompanied by an additional £15 billion of private investment, which is levered in thanks to the new affordable rent model. The hon. Member may wish to take this into account when noting the total level of housing investment.

Local Government: Magazine Press

Andy Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what information his Department holds on how many local councils in England publish magazines more than six times a year.

Brandon Lewis: holding answer 22 October 2013
	In their response to our consultation paper, “Protecting the independent free from unfair competition”, the Local Government Association indicated that 10% of councils publish a newspaper/newsletter with a frequency of more than quarterly (contrary to the advice in the Code of Recommended Practice on Local Authority Publicity).
	The Newspaper Society's submission to that consultation drew attention to particular council publications which I understand are still being published—including Newham (fortnightly), Greenwich (weekly), Tower Hamlets (weekly), Hackney (fortnightly), Luton (monthly), Waltham Forest (fortnightly), East Northamptonshire (fortnightly), North Somerset (monthly).
	In his comments of 28 October 2013, Official Report, column 719, the hon. Member mentioned the fortnightly, freely-delivered publication Nene Valley News (from East Northamptonshire council). Having read a copy, I note it is full of commercial advertising, from estate agents to designer kitchens, plumbers to pet supplies, and curry houses to carpets. It is frequent, municipal publications such as this which represent unfair, state-subsidised competition to the independent free press.

Local Government: Procurement

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what proportion of local authorities posted low-value procurement contracts on Contracts Finder in the latest period for which figures are available.

Brandon Lewis: From the data available, in the last 40 days, approximately 32 local authorities posted at least one below the Official Journal of the European Union Threshold contract opportunity on Contracts Finder. Not all of the 353 local authorities in England use Contract Finder, and many councils may have had no appropriate procurement contracts to post.
	The Cabinet Office have recently consulted on using Contracts Finder as a single platform for locating all contract opportunities as part of a package of measures recommended by Lord Young. A response to the consultation will be published shortly.

New Towns

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what recent discussions he has had on increasing housing supply in the south east of England by building an entirely new town;
	(2)  what discussions he has had on the potential construction of a new town within the boundaries of the Mid Bedfordshire constituency.

Kris Hopkins: Ministers have had no recent discussions specifically on the construction of new towns in the south east of England or within the Mid-Bedfordshire constituency.
	Reflecting commitments made in both coalition parties' general election manifestos and in the coalition agreement, the coalition Government has scrapped top-down Whitehall planning. This has included ending the last Government's so-called eco-towns programme.
	Instead, this Government is working with local communities to build more homes, and promote sustainable development. This is being supported by programmes such as Help to Buy, the Growing Places Fund and Get Britain Building. There is also a role for more bespoke assistance to unlock and kick start locally supported, locally-led, large scale sites suitable for housing.
	Through the local infrastructure fund, the Department is investing £474 million on a recoverable basis to support locally-led, large scale housing and commercial development, including several schemes near Fareham in Hampshire and Cranbrook in Devon. As part of this work, departmental officials and Ministers have held discussions with local councils, the housing industry and others with an interest in these schemes.

DEFENCE

Armed Forces: Dogs

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much money has been raised in each of the last five years from the sale of military working dogs which have been withdrawn from service.

Anna Soubry: The amount of money raised from the sale of military working dogs that are no longer in service or have failed training over the last five years is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  £ 
			 2008 4,890.00 
			 2009 8,707.00 
			 2010 8,200.00 
			 2011 15,490.40 
			 2012 5,596.80 
			 2013 (To date) 12,095.19 
		
	
	Money from the sale of military working dogs is re-invested back into the Defence Animal Centre's animal procurement budget to contribute towards purchase costs of the next generation of military working animals.

Armed Forces: Dogs

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make it his policy that military dog handlers be given first refusal of taking ownership of a dog when the decision is taken to withdraw it from service.

Anna Soubry: Any requests to re-home a specific military working animal when they retire from service are appended to the animal's service record.
	A dog may have many handlers during their service career, and more than one may request to re-home it on retirement. The dog is normally offered to the individual who made the first request, dependent upon the individual and the dog's circumstances, but the welfare of the animal is always our over-riding concern.

Armed Forces: Recruitment

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 25 October 2013, Official Report, column 309W, on Air Force: recruitment, whether his Department takes account of family history of (a) diabetes, (b) heart failure, (c) obesity, (d) epilepsy and (e) Anderson-Fabry's disease in the selection of applicants to the armed forces who have neither symptoms nor a diagnosis of such illnesses; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry: Before a medical examination to assess fitness for entry into the services, candidates are asked to declare any family history of Tuberculosis, Diabetes, Mental Health Disorders, High Blood Pressure, Heart Disease and any other serious illness. While a family history of obesity and epilepsy is not specifically asked about, it may be declared under ‘any other serious illnesses'.
	If there is a concern that the family history may include conditions with a significant hereditary component, such as Anderson-Fabry's disease, and where there is a strong likelihood of it being passed through the family to the candidate, further inquiry will be undertaken to define the likelihood of the inherited disease manifesting during service. If there is such a risk, the candidate may be referred for a further specialist opinion or rejected for entry, irrespective of whether they have signs, symptoms or a formal diagnosis of a disease at the time of the medical.
	The Department relies on family history as a screening tool and does not ask for genetic data or require genetic testing. However, should a candidate declare previous genetic testing for a condition then that information would be factored into a fitness decision as relevant to the candidate's health in the future.

Army

Simon Reevell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of the regular army have resigned or have been made redundant since 5 July 2012; and how many have subsequently enlisted into the territorial army.

Anna Soubry: The resignation and redundancy outflow figures from the regular army, and the number for subsequent enlistment in the Territorial Army Group A between 1 June 2012 and 30 September 2013 are shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Outflow Type Voluntary Outflow and Redundancy Total Voluntary Outflow Redundancy 
			 Trained Regular Outflow 9,200 6,870 2,630 
			 Trained Regulars to TA Group A 360 210 140 
			 Note/Caveat: Outflows from the Regulars are for Trained Regulars only and therefore exclude FTRS and Gurkhas but include those individuals who have transferred from GURTAM to UKTAP. Source: Defence Statistics (Army) 
		
	
	In addition to the above there is end of service outflow, some of who have subsequently enlisted in the Territorial Army.

EU Law

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  to which EU Directives within his Department's areas of responsibility the Government has formally opted into in each financial year since May 2010; on what dates each such directive was signed; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what EU Directives within his Department's areas of responsibility have come into force without the need for an opt-in decision in each financial year since May 2010; on what dates each such directive came into force; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Murrison: The UK's Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) opt-in is the only such mechanism available. It does not directly apply to the Ministry of Defence's area of responsibility.
	Details of all EU directives that the UK has opted into pursuant to protocol 21 to the treaties on the functioning of the European Union since May 2010 are listed on the Government's JHA opt-in web page, which can be found at the following link:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/206297/2_JHA_opt-in_webpage_update_-_data_v0_l.pdf
	Details of all EU legislation, including full details of all EU directives that have come into force since May 2010, can be found on the Commission's website at the following link:
	http://eur-lex.europa.eu/RECH_legislation.do

Secondment

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many private sector employees have been seconded by the private sector to his Department; what the name was of the company from which they were seconded; and whether any of those employees have worked on drafting legislation.

Anna Soubry: There are currently 21 private sector employees who are seconded into the Ministry of Defence. They are seconded from companies with technology and engineering backgrounds, and are shown in the following table. None of these secondees have worked on drafting legislation.
	
		
			 Company/Organisation Number of Secondees 
			 Atomic Weapons Establishment 3 
			 Babcock 1 
			 BAE Systems 6 
			 Landmarc 4 
			 Rolls Royce 2 
			 Selex Galileo 2 
			 Other 3 
			 Total 21

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Biofuels

Anne McGuire: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what sanctions are available if generating stations using biomass to generate electricity exceed their forecasted domestic wood use; and if he will make a statement.

Gregory Barker: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave her on 18 November 2013, Official Report, column 719W.

Energy Supply: Fees and Charges

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the effect of Project TransmiT on consumer energy bills until 2020; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the effect of Project TransmiT on (a) investment in combined cycle gas turbines and (b) the UK's security of energy supply until 2020; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what discussions he has had with Ofgem about Project TransmiT; and if he will make a statement;
	(4)  what assessment he has made of the financial effect of Project TransmiT on combined cycle gas turbines, nuclear power stations and onshore and offshore wind farms in (a) England, (b) Wales and (c) Scotland until 2020; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Fallon: Responsibility for the transmission charging regime and Project TransmiT sits with the independent regulator, Ofgem.
	The Department takes an interest in the regime as one of the key factors in delivering the transmission network in a way that maintains security of supply and keeps down costs for the consumer. Project TransmiT has been one of a number of topics Ministers and officials have discussed during routine meetings with Ofgem.
	National Grid and Ofgem have carried out detailed analysis of the impacts of different transmission charging approaches on security of supply and consumer costs during Project TransmiT. Ofgem consulted on its “preferred approach” and impact assessment in August 2013. Details can be found here:
	https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/electricity/transmission-networks/charging/project-transmit
	Ofgem's analysis indicates long-term benefits for both security of supply and costs for consumers from its “preferred approach”.

Environmental Protection: Taxation

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many full-time equivalent staff in his Department are working on the review of green levies on consumer bills.

Michael Fallon: A number of staff from a range of different teams within the Department of Energy and Climate Change are contributing to the review of green levies on consumer bills.

Hinkley Point C Power Station

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what fees his Department paid to (a) Willis, (b) Leigh Fisher Associates, (c) Slaughter & May, (d) KPMG and (e) Lazard Ltd for financial, legal and technical advice on the strike price negotiated with EDF Energy for Hinkley Point C.

Michael Fallon: The fees paid (inc. VAT) for financial, legal and technical advice on the proposed investment contract for Hinkley Point C up until October 2013 were as follows:
	
		
			  £ 
			 Willis 16,575 
			 Leigh Fisher Associates 1,365,394 
			 KPMG 2,160,553 
			 Lazard Ltd 1,649,778 
			 Slaughter and May 2,756,347 
		
	
	Prior to July 2013 the cost of advice from Slaughter and May on Final Investment Decision enabling (FIDe) was not split out for individual projects. The spending for all FIDe. Projects to end June 2013 was £2,250,830.

Renewables Obligation

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what amount of money was disbursed through renewable obligation certificates in (a) the UK, (b) England, (c) Scotland and (d) Wales in 2013.

Michael Fallon: The renewables obligation is a market-based support mechanism which does not involve the disbursement of money. Generators receive renewable obligation certificates (ROCs) in respect of the eligible renewable electricity that they generate. The nominal value of a ROC for 2012-13 was £44.48. The actual value of a ROC to a generator will be determined by the market.
	The following table shows the number and total value of ROCs issued to generators that have been redeemed against the 2012/13 obligation in the UK, England, Scotland and Wales:
	
		
			 Location ROCs redeemed Total value of ROCs (£ million) 
			 UK 44,773,499 1,991 
			 England 28,632,478 1,273 
			 Scotland 12,627,622 562 
			 Wales 2,205,410 98

TREASURY

Cash Dispensing

Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what steps his Department is taking to extend the use and availability of free-to-use money dispensers;
	(2)  how many ATMs operated on an (a) pay-to-use basis and (b) free-to-use basis in each year since 2001-02;
	(3)  whether he has set a target for the total number of free ATMs in the UK.

Sajid Javid: The Government has not set a target for the total number of free ATMs in the UK.
	Decisions on the building and placement of ATMs are operational decisions for the industry to take, and the Government does not seek to intervene in these decisions.
	Since December 2006, LINK (the ATM network operator) has been receiving and forwarding site nominations to place free ATMs in low-income areas. As a result of this, 840 new free-to-use ATMs have been installed, helping consumers in over 1,300 target areas. The industry invests an extra £830,000 per year to maintain these machines.
	The Government does not hold information on the number ATMs operated on a pay-to-use basis and a free-to-use basis. However, Link holds information on the number of ATMs connected to the Link network, which is effectively all ATMs in the UK. This information can be found at the following link:
	http://www.link.co.uk/AboutLINK/Statistics/Pages/Statistics.aspx

Children: Day Care

Lucy Powell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 23 October 2013, Official Report, column 183W, on children: day care, if he will assess how much is spent on tax relief for workplace nurseries specifically; and how many (a) companies and (b) nurseries benefit from that scheme.

Nicky Morgan: The information requested is not available.

Excise Duties: Fuels

Hywel Williams: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what representations he has received from the Welsh Government on the exclusion of rural areas in Wales from bids for a fuel duty reduction;
	(2)  what the criteria for inclusion in the bids for fuel duty reductions was; and if he will make a statement.

Danny Alexander: The Chancellor routinely receives a range of representations from stakeholders such as the devolved Administrations.
	The Government is giving fuel retailers a further opportunity to submit information to the Treasury as part of its plan to extend the rural fuel rebate to mainland rural areas. Areas that have already qualified will remain part of the application to the European Commission and will not need to submit further information.
	This supplementary call for information could see further areas added to the scheme providing they meet the strict criteria which were used to identify the areas which have already qualified:
	1. Pump price threshold:
	Pump prices have to be more expensive than the lowest pump price on the islands in the existing scheme (not including the current rebate), during the months examined:
	
		
			 ppl 
			  October 2012 November 2012 December 2012 
			 Petrol 145 139 140 
			 Diesel 149 149 146 
		
	
	2. Cost of transporting fuel:
	Places have to be over 100 miles by road from the nearest refinery.
	3. Population density:
	The population density must be no higher than any area in the current scheme.

Excise Duties: Fuels

Jesse Norman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what criteria were applied when selecting which locations would be the subject to the Government's application to the European Commission for an extension of the rural fuel duty rebate scheme;
	(2)  how many submissions were received to his Department's August 2013 call for information on rural fuel prices in (a) total and (b) each location identified in that document.

Danny Alexander: The Treasury received 35 responses to the Call for Information, which closed on 4 September. As not all retailers were able to provide information, the Government is giving fuel retailers a further opportunity to submit information to the Treasury.
	This supplementary call for information could see further areas added to the scheme providing they meet the strict criteria which were used to identify the areas which have already qualified:
	1. Pump price threshold:
	Pump prices have to be more expensive than the lowest pump price on the islands in the existing scheme (not including the current rebate), during the months examined:
	
		
			 ppl 
			  October 2012 November 2012 December 2012 
			 Petrol 145 139 140 
			 Diesel 149 149 146 
		
	
	2. Cost of transporting fuel:
	Places have to be over 100 miles by road from the nearest refinery.
	3. Population density:
	The population density must be no higher than any area in the current scheme.

Intestacy

Nigel Evans: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many estates passed to the Crown under the rules of intestacy in each of the last five years;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the number of people who died intestate in (a) Ribble Valley constituency, (b) Lancashire and (c) the UK in each of the last five years.

Sajid Javid: The Treasury does not hold records of the number of people who die intestate each year. However, in England and Wales (excluding the Duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall), the Treasury Solicitor administers the estates of deceased who die intestate and without known entitled relatives (known as bona vacantia) on behalf of the Crown. The number of estates that were administered and the amount collected in each of the last five years is:
	
		
			  Number of estates Amount collected (£ million) 
			 2008-09 (1)338 19.2 
			 2009-10 527 24.4 
			 2010-11 887 16.9 
			 2011-12 840 33.5 
			 2012-13 722 18.2 
			 (1 )Information held for December 2008 to March 2009 only. 
		
	
	This information is available in the Bona Vacantia Division of the Treasury Solicitor's Department's annual accounts and is available on the division's website at:
	www.bonavacantia.gov.uk

Minimum Wage

Andrew George: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many (a) successful convictions and (b) investigations launched there have been in respect of alleged or proven breaches of the national minimum wage regulations in each year since their introduction.

David Gauke: The Government takes the enforcement of NMW very seriously and HMRC review every complaint that is referred to them, investigating the complaint and, in addition, carrying out targeted enforcement where we identify a high risk of non-payment of NMW.
	I refer the hon. Member to my answer to the right hon. Member for Tottenham (Mr Lammy) on 8 October 2013, Official Report, column 152W, with regard to prosecutions.
	HMRC have enhanced the range of interventions it makes to investigate employers' compliance with national minimum wage. Enforcement officers investigate individual workers' complaints and may extend their review to include the whole of the employer's workforce dependent on the perceived level of risk. While this had reduced the number of cases completed, it has increased the level of assurance gained on employers' compliance with NMW legislation. This approach has led to an increase in the numbers of workers helped, which rose by 53% in 2012-13 when compared to 2011-12.
	The data in the following table relates to cases opened or registered since 1999.
	
		
			  Number of cases opened or registered 
			 1999-2000 8,913 
			 2000-01 7,423 
			 2001-02 5,233 
			 2002-03 6,511 
			 2003-04 5,352 
			 2004-05 4,955 
			 2005-06 4,010 
			 2006-07 4,530 
			 2007-08 4,773 
			 2008-09 4,494 
			 2009-10 4,050 
			 2010-11 2,930 
			 2011-12 2,569 
			 2012-13 1,615

Minimum Wage

Chris Williamson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people work for companies employing over 250 staff and are paid the minimum wage; and if he will make a statement.

David Gauke: The information requested is not available.
	The Government takes the enforcement of NMW very seriously and HMRC enforce the national minimum wage legislation on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and has done so since the introduction of NMW in April 1999. It does that by investigating all complaints made about employers suspected of not paying the minimum wage, in addition carrying out targeted enforcement where it identifies a high risk of non-payment of NMW.

Revenue and Customs

Ian Lavery: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many staff are employed in HM Revenue and Custom's Personal Tax Directorate on (a) permanent and (b) fixed-term contracts.

David Gauke: Within HM Revenue and Custom's Personal Tax Directorate, there are the following numbers of staff employed on (a) permanent and (b) fixed-term contracts as at the 31 October 2013.
	(a) Permanent—22,640 (equivalent to 19,504.6 full-time staff)
	(b) Fixed-term contracts—3,210 (equivalent to 2,716.01 full-time staff)

Revenue and Customs

Ian Lavery: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  whether HM Revenue and Customs monitors whether customer calls to its contact centres on a Saturday are from customers who were not able to get through during a week day;
	(2)  what proportion of calls were answered by HM Revenue and Customs contact centres in each of the last six months.

David Gauke: HMRC does not hold this information as it does not monitor whether customer calls received on a Saturday are from customers who are unable to get through on a week day.
	HMRC periodically publishes its quarterly performance statistics at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/business-plan-indicators
	HMRC is working hard to improve customer's experience in respect of call handling and processing. The department has recently introduced an Intelligent Automated Telephony system which is speech recognition based. This allows customers to say what they want to discuss when they telephone HMRC. This means that for the majority of customers, the adviser knows why the customer is calling before they answer the call, offering a more effective service, HMRC is also using increased flexible working across both processing and call handling activities in order to meet demand and improve overall service to customers while meeting its targets.

Stamp Duty Reserve Tax

George Freeman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment his Department has made of the effect on pension investment returns of the abolition of schedule 19 stamp duty reserve tax.

Sajid Javid: The impact of these changes has been independently assessed by the Government Actuary's Department (GAD).
	They calculate that a typical 22-year-old currently earning average weekly earnings and investing the equivalent of 10% of gross income each year over a 45 year period would see a fund value £11,200 greater at retirement as a result of these changes.
	This is equivalent to approximately a 1.3% uplift in their total fund at retirement. In current money terms that is equivalent to an additional £4,600.

Stamp Duty Reserve Tax

George Freeman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what effect the abolition of Schedule 19 stamp duty reserve tax on UK funds will have on jobs in the UK in (a) total and (b) each region.

Sajid Javid: We estimate that there are currently 32,300 people directly employed by the asset management industry. This includes for example 3,300 people in Edinburgh, 1,200 people in Coventry, 900 people in Reigate and 500 people in Liverpool. In addition there are tens of thousands whose jobs indirectly rely on the sector.
	Many of these jobs are created by funds which are set up in the UK. The abolition of this tax will encourage more funds to be set up here, thereby safeguarding existing jobs and equipping the UK to compete more effectively in the global race for growth.

Welfare Tax Credits

Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many working tax credit and child tax credit claims were not paid into a bank account or building society account or a post office card account in 2012-13; and how such claimants received their payments.

Nicky Morgan: The total number of working tax credit and child tax credit payments issued to customers in 2012-13 was 206,186,204 (see following table). Of these 192,190 were issued by cashcheque. Cashcheque is the only payment method used by HMRC which gives the customer the choice of either encashment across a Post office counter or to pay in to a bank account.
	No data is available on the exact split between the number of cashcheque payments that customers elected to cash across post office counters as against paying into a bank account. Low level sampling indicates that the majority are cashed at the Post Office. Calculation of a reliable estimate could only be done at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			 Payment method Number of issues Percentage 
			 Cashcheque 192,190 0.09 
			 BACS 193,088,667 93.65 
			 POca 12,901,003 6.26 
			 PO 4,344 0.00 
			 Total 206,186,204  
			 Note: The BACS issues are shown net of POca issues as POca is also issued via BACS.

Welsh Government: Borrowing

Paul Murphy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will hold discussions with Ministers in the Welsh Government to discuss borrowing powers for the Welsh Government.

Danny Alexander: We announced on 1 November that the Welsh Government will be given new tax and borrowing powers, as recommended by the Commission on Devolution in Wales (the Silk Commission). The Government's response to the Commission was published on 18 November, with 30 of the 31 recommendations for the UK Government accepted in full or in part.
	As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all meetings and discussions. But I regularly meet with the Welsh Government Finance Minister to discuss matters that are relevant to Wales.

EDUCATION

Hotcourses

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many contracts his Department has awarded to Hotcourses Ltd since May 2010; and what the (a) purpose, (b) monetary value and (c) net worth was of each contract.

Elizabeth Truss: According to centrally held records, the Department for Education has not awarded any contracts to Hotcourses Ltd since May 2010. This does not include data relating to arm's length bodies prior to April 2012, which are not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Kings Science Academy

David Ward: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  if he will publish the articles of association for the Kings Science Academy in Bradford;
	(2)  if he will publish the report by Crowe Clark and Whitehill accountants into the financial arrangements at Kings Science Academy, Bradford;
	(3)  pursuant to the answer of 7 November 2013, Official Report, column 339W, on Kings Science Academy, for what reason his Department contacted Action Fraud on 5 September;
	(4)  if he will publish the warning notice issued to the Kings Science Academy, Bradford in May 2013.

Edward Timpson: The articles of association for Kings Science Academy are available on the Department's website at:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/cgi-bin/schools/performance/school.pl?urn=137277
	The report by Crowe Clark and Whitehill is produced for and owned by the academy. It is a matter for the academy to determine whether the report is published.
	Officials from the Department for Education contacted Action Fraud on 5 September for a progress update.
	The warning notice issued to Kings Science Academy was published on 20 November on the Department's website:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/aboutdfe/executiveagencies/efa/efafundingfinance/b00212647/extemal-assurance/academiesfraud/investigation-reports

Translation Services

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much (a) his Department and (b) its agencies spent on interpreters and translation services in (i) 2010, (ii) 2011 and (iii) 2012.

Elizabeth Truss: The following table shows the sum spent on interpreters and translation services by the Department for Education and its agencies in the last three financial years:
	
		
			 £ 
			  2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 
			 Department for Education 1,862 6,296 32,765 
			 Standards and Testing Agency(1) n/a 0 0 
			 Teaching Agency n/a n/a 2,432 
			 National College for School Leadership n/a n/a 2,440 
			 Education Funding Agency n/a n/a 0 
			 (1) The Standards and Testing Agency came in to existence in October 2011 and the other agencies from April 2012. Information in relation to the arm's length bodies which preceded these agencies is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate costs. 
		
	
	Much of this spend relates to the cost of translating documents on teachers' pay, pensions and conditions into the Welsh language as these areas are still reserved powers to Westminster.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

vCJD: Sheep

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the presence of vCJD prions in sheep.

George Eustice: vCJD prions have not been found to be present in sheep.

Meat Exports: Russia

Harriett Baldwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what increase there has been in meat exports to Russia in the last year.

George Eustice: Our success last year in opening up the Russian market to poultry has helped fuel a 61% rise in meat exports to Russia from a total of £932,000 for January to September of 2012 to nearly £1.5 million for the same period this year. In September the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for North Shropshire (Mr Paterson), finalised a trade deal for beef and lamb that is expected to be worth up to £100 million over three years. This is further proof of his commitment to driving export growth.

Anaerobic Digestion

Guy Opperman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps his Department is taking to encourage the use of anaerobic digestion.

Dan Rogerson: Government financial support and action under our Anaerobic Digestion Strategy and Action Plan is leading to growing uptake of anaerobic digestion. We published a progress report in August, which is available on the Gov.uk website. It can be viewed at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/229432/pb14019-anaerobic-digestion-annual-report-2012-13.pdf
	Since the Strategy was published, the number of plants has increased from 54 to more than 120. Another 200 projects have planning permission.

Animal Welfare: Horses

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he plans to take to prevent an increase in fly-grazing of horses in England following legislative changes to be made in Wales.

George Eustice: There is a range of existing legislation that can be used to deal with fly grazing, including the Animals Act 1971 and the Animal Welfare Act 2006. In addition, because fly grazing is a form of antisocial behaviour, existing antisocial behaviour legislation and forthcoming measures in the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime & Policing Bill may be used to tackle it. The Government considers that a joined-up approach by enforcers and interested parties at a local level can be helpful in tackling the problem. There are continuing discussions at official level on tackling practical problems associated with fly grazing, including any that might arise from any new legislative measures in Wales.

Bovine Tuberculosis

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs with reference to page 17 of his Department's review of effectiveness, environmental impact, humaneness and feasibility of lethal methods for badger control, published on 20 October 2005, whether the small scale toxicity trial involving four badgers carried out following Lord Zuckerman's 1980 review is the last time that live testing on badgers of gassing techniques has been carried out in the UK; and if he will make a statement.

George Eustice: We are not aware of any research looking at the effects of gas on live badgers since the work at Porton Down carried out in 1982 following the report by Lord Zuckerman.

Food

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of food eaten in the UK was produced in the UK in (a) 1993 and (b) 2013; and what estimate he has made of what that proportion will be in 2033.

George Eustice: The proportion of food eaten in the UK that was produced in the UK in 1993 was 63%.
	The latest available figures for 2012 give the proportion as 53%. Figures for 2013 are not yet available.
	A full time series from 1988 to 2012 is available in Chapter 14 of the publication 'Agriculture in the United Kingdom' at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/agriculture-in-the-united-kingdom
	We do not make estimates for future years. Meaningful and accurate estimates of domestic production of food are difficult to calculate and would run the risk of influencing commodity markets.

Horses

Nigel Adams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the problems caused to landowners by illegally-tethered ponies, abandoned ponies and fly grazing; [R]
	(2)  what guidance he gives to landowners who find abandoned ponies on their land. [R]

George Eustice: DEFRA is aware of, and has considered, the issues relating to the problems of illegally-tethered ponies, abandoned ponies and fly grazing. There is no formal Government guidance. However, there is a range of existing legislation that can be used to deal with these issues, including the Animals Act 1971 and the Animal Welfare Act 2006. The abandonment of ponies which causes unnecessary suffering is a potential offence under the Animal Welfare Act 2006. In addition, because fly grazing is a form of antisocial behaviour, existing antisocial behaviour legislation and forthcoming measures in the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime & Policing Bill may be used to tackle it.

Horses

Damian Hinds: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of recent trends in the practice of fly-grazing horses.

George Eustice: No such assessment has been made by Government. However, the various horse charities have estimated that almost 7,000 horses in England and Wales may be at risk in terms of their welfare this year.

Inland Waterways: Conservation

Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent representations he has received on the use of rotenone to eradicate topmouth gudgeon in rivers, brooks and streams.

George Eustice: No recent representations have been made to the Secretary of State on the use of rotenone to eradicate topmouth gudgeon in rivers, brooks and streams.
	Topmouth gudgeon is a highly invasive species that has the potential to cause significant impacts on our freshwater environment, native species, habitats and our recreational fisheries on a national basis. To address this threat the Environment Agency has put in place a programme to eradicate topmouth gudgeon from the UK by 2017.

Secondment

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many private sector employees have been seconded by the private sector to his Department; what the name was of the company from which they were seconded; and whether any of those employees have worked on drafting legislation.

Dan Rogerson: As at 31 October 2013, three private sector employees were seconded into core DEFRA. They were seconded from the following organisations:
	Carbon Disclosure Project (a registered charity);
	Thames Water; and
	Veolia Environmental Services.
	All three were involved in work on the impact on business of government policy, including matters which are the subject of legislation, regulations and guidance.

Wildlife: Smuggling

Stephen Mosley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what international action the Government is taking to tackle the illegal trade in wildlife.

George Eustice: Tackling the alarming increase in poaching and illegal wildlife trade is a priority for this Government and we are actively supporting international efforts. For example, during a recent visit to Kenya, the Secretary of State announced that British Army paratroopers will provide patrol and field training to Kenyan wildlife rangers. We are hosting a high-level, inter-governmental conference in London in February 2014 to galvanise the international community to take action to reduce poaching and trafficking.

JUSTICE

Health Services: Freedom of Information

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what plans he has to bring forward an extension of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 to cover private healthcare providers.

Shailesh Vara: The Government recognises the importance of maintaining transparency in relation to outsourced public services. The NHS Standard Contract already includes a provision requiring private providers to assist and co-operate with commissioners to enable them to meet their obligations under FOIA. In our response to the Justice Select Committee's Post Legislative Scrutiny of FOIA we also made clear that guidance will be provided in a revised code of practice to be issued under section 45 of the Act to promote openness by all contractors providing public services, including through the use and enforcement of contractual transparency provisions to encourage still greater openness.
	Copies of the response to Post Legislative Scrutiny can be found in the House Library and at the following web address:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/217298/gov-resp-justice-comm-foi-act.pdf

Prisons: Civil Disorder

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether any compensation will be paid to prisoners for lost, damaged or destroyed goods as a result of the disturbances and rioting at Maidstone, Rye Hill and Rugby prisons at the beginning of November 2013; and which budgets this is covered by.

Jeremy Wright: No claims have been received relating to the disturbance at HMP Maidstone but NOMS will always robustly defend a claim where the evidence allows. Any decision to pay compensation to prisoners will depend on the facts of the case and the legal advice received. Compensation payments are usually settled by the prison concerned. HMP Rye Hill, near Rugby, is a contracted prison and NOMS would not be responsible for dealing with any litigation claims there.
	We have introduced amendments to the prison rules and young offender institution rules which took effect on 1 November. Where prisoners are charged with a breach of the rules and found guilty, the changes require adjudicators to impose a compensation payment where the charge relates to destruction or damage to prisons or prison property. The changes allow governors to take monies directly from prisoners' private cash, savings and spend accounts to satisfy the compensation requirement.

HEALTH

Accident and Emergency Departments

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent on medical locums in accident and emergency departments in each year since 2009-10.

Daniel Poulter: The data collected by the Department on the costs of staff who are not permanently employed by the national health service does not identify medical locums in accident and emergency departments.

Care Homes

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the number of people who will be living in residential care homes in (a) Ribble Valley constituency, (b) Lancashire and (c) England in (i) 2023, (ii) 2033 and (iii) 2043;
	(2)  how many people have been resident in residential care homes in (a) Ribble Valley constituency, (b) Lancashire and (c) England in each of the last five years.

Norman Lamb: The Department has not made any estimate of the number of people who will be living in residential care homes in Ribble Valley constituency or Lancashire. Local councils are responsible for providing or arranging social care services for their populations and planning for future need.
	The Personal Social Services Research Unit at the University of Kent published a report of research for the Commission on Funding of Care and Support in December 2011, entitled Projections of Demand for and Costs of Social Care for Older People in England, 2010 to 2030, under Current and Alternative Funding Systems. The report is available at:
	www.lse.ac.uk/LSEHealthAndSocialCare/pdf/Dilnot_report.pdf
	Information on the total numbers of people resident in residential care homes is not collected centrally.
	We are informed by the NHS Health and Social Care Information Centre that it collects and publishes data on the numbers of adults—aged 18 and over—permanently and temporarily admitted to residential care homes whose care is funded wholly or in part by councils with adult social services responsibilities (CASSRs). Information is not collected on self-funders - those who pay for their own care.
	Information for Ribble Valley constituency is not available separately. The following table shows data for Lancashire, the North West region and England from 2008-09 to 2012-13.
	
		
			 Number in receipt of residential care funded wholly or in part by CASSRs 
			 Area Year Total 
			 Lancashire 2008-09 4,600 
			  2009-10 4,595 
			  2010-11 4,560 
			  2011-12 4,560 
			  2012-13(1) 4,465 
			    
			 North West region 2008-09 23,850 
			  2009-10 24,210 
			  2010-11 23,700 
			  2011-12 23,355 
			  2012-13(1) 22,960 
			    
			 England 2008-09 169,085 
			  2009-10 166,755 
			  2010-11 162,365 
			  2011-12 162,575 
			  2012-13(1) 158,175 
			 (1) Data for 2012-13 are interim figures. Final, validated data are due to be published on 17 December 2013. Notes: 1. The figures are number of residents supported or funded wholly or in part by CASSRs. These are not the same as the number of people resident in residential care homes. Self-funders—those who pay for their own care—are not included. 2. These data are collected on the Adult Social Care—Combined Activity Return (ASC-CAR), which covers all adults age 18 arid over where there is an element of CASSR-funded support. 3. The data provided are for permanent and temporary admissions combined. 4 Figures are rounded to the nearest five. 5. All figures are final data .except for 2012-13 which are data from the Interim Report (published on 7 November 2013). 6. These data include both local authority staffed and independent residential care homes. They do not include residents of nursing homes. Source: Adult Social Care—Combined Activity Return (ASC-CAR) S1 return.

Clinical Commissioning Groups

Liz Kendall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much clinical commissioning groups have spent on consultancy services in (a) 2012-13 and (b) 2013-14 to date.

Jane Ellison: NHS England's recent Quarter 2 expenditure return to the Department showed that clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) have spent £17.6 million so far this year on consultancy services.
	There is no data for 2012-13, as no CCG was established and authorised to commission services before April 2013.

Commissioning Support Units

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his policy is on the potential sale of NHS commissioning support units; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Ellison: NHS Commissioning Support Units (CDUs) are due to move from their current host, NHS England, to more autonomous forms by April 2016. As their host, NHS England will support their development to maximise their future success within a vibrant and diverse commissioning support market that provides commissioners with a choice of excellent and affordable support services.
	We are advised that NHS England is currently considering the shortlist of potential forms that CSUs will be able to choose from. This currently precludes the ability for CSUs to choose sale. NHS England plans to outline a final list of options and process in a consultation which will invite feedback from stakeholders. We also understand that NHS England is planning to publish their final strategy for moving CSUs to autonomous forms in summer 2014.

Diabetes

James Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Torbay of 18 March 2013, Official Report, column 521W, on continuing care, what recent progress the NHS Commissioning Board has made in developing the Diabetes Action Plan; and when he expects this document to be published;
	(2)  on what date the operation of the National Service Framework for Diabetes will end; and who is leading work on that framework;
	(3)  what steps he has taken to ensure that the quality of care for people with diabetes is maintained in the period between the end of the operation of the National Service Framework for Diabetes and the start of the Diabetes Action Plan.

Jane Ellison: The National Service Framework for Diabetes, published in 2001, was a 10-year strategy vision.
	Since 1 April 2013, responsibility for ensuring the quality of diabetes care sits with NHS England and clinical commissioning groups (CCGs).
	Dr Jonathan Valabhji, the National Clinical Director for Obesity and Diabetes, is committed to improving the quality of NHS services and ensuring better health outcomes for people living with diabetes.
	Through the Mandate, the Department has asked NHS England to demonstrate progress towards making the NHS among the best in Europe at supporting people with ongoing health problems such as diabetes to live healthy and independent lives, with better control over the care they receive.
	NHS England is continuing to develop the Diabetes Action Plan. This document will set out clearly how NHS England will drive improved outcomes for patients using diabetes as an exemplar. NHS England has advised that it aims to publish the Plan by the end of this year.
	The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) quality standard for adults with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes was published on 31 March 2011. This builds on NICE'S clinical guidelines, and also the National Service Framework for Diabetes. Quality standards are a powerful tool for NHS England to ensure that local commissioners are able to provide high quality care that meets the needs of their communities.
	Diabetes is included in the Cardiovascular Disease Outcome Strategy, published in March 2013. The strategy sets out key actions for commissioners and providers to help improve the quality of care for those with or at risk of diabetes and to ensure that patients and carers get the best possible support.
	NHS Improving Quality, as part of NHS England, is working with strategic clinical networks to support commissioners and providers deliver appropriate services and treatment to people with diabetes.

Diabetes

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the total cost to the NHS was of consequential care for diabetes in each year since 2006.

Jane Ellison: Information on the total cost to the national health service of consequential care for diabetes is not held centrally. However, the programme budgeting estimates of expenditure on diabetes are provided in the following table for 2006-07 to 2011-12.
	
		
			 Estimated aggregate primary care trust (PCT) expenditure on diabetes, financial years 2006-07 to 2011-12 
			 Financial year Expenditure (£ million) 
			 2006-07 897 
			 2007-08 985 
			 2008-09 1,113 
			 2009-10 1,271 
			 2010-11 1,462 
		
	
	
		
			 2011-12 1,546 
			 Notes: 1. Expenditure data are calculated from PCT programme budgeting returns to the Department of Health for 2003-04 to 2011-12. Programme budgeting returns are based on a subset of PCT accounts data and represent a subset of overall NHS expenditure data. 2. Calculating programme budgeting data is complex and not all health care activity or services can be classified directly to a programme budgeting category or care setting. When it is not possible to reasonably estimate a programme budgeting category, expenditure is classified as “Other”. Expenditure on General Medical Services and Personal Medical Services cannot be reasonably estimated at disease specific level, and is separately identified as a subcategory of “Other” expenditure. 3. The allocation of expenditure to programme budgeting sub-categories is not always straightforward, and sub-category level data should therefore be used with caution. 4. In order to improve data quality, continual refinements have been made to the programme budgeting data calculation methodology since the first collection in 2003-04. The underlying data which support programme budgeting data are also subject to yearly changes. Programme budgeting data can not be used to analyse changes in investment in specific service areas between years. Users of the data should note that significant changes to the data calculation methodology were introduced in 2010-11. 5. Figures for years 2003-04 to 2009-10 are calculated using provider costs as a basis. Figures for 2010-11 and 2011-12 are calculated using price paid for specific activities and services purchased from health care providers. PCTs follow standard guidance, procedures and mappings when calculating programme budgeting data. 6. PCT figures used to calculate 2010-11 data differ from those previously published in the 2010-11 programme budgeting benchmarking spreadsheet. This is due to the correction of errors identified for five PCTs for this year. 7. Aggregate PCT data supersede previously published England level programme budgeting data. England level data incorporated estimates of expenditure on health care conditions for the Department, strategic health authorities and special health authorities. The Department of Health no longer publishes this data as aggregate PCT figures provide a more accurate and meaningful representation of the breakdown of NHS expenditure by health care condition. 8. For 2003-04, figures are based on PCT net expenditure. For 2004-05 onwards, figures are based on PCT spend on own population. This is calculated by adjusting net expenditure to add back expenditure funded from sources outside the NHS and to deduct expenditure on other PCT populations incurred through lead commissioning arrangements. 
		
	
	Due to changes in the collection methodology and underlying data it is not possible to directly compare figures between years. In particular, there was a significant change to the collection in 2010-11.
	The programme budgeting estimates include all PCT expenditure. However, for some care settings there is not sufficient information available to allocate all expenditure to specific programme categories. The majority of primary care expenditure is allocated to Category 23a GMS/PMS and not all expenditure on diabetes for areas such as out-patients and community care will be captured in the diabetes expenditure estimates.

Diabetes

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he plans to publish the document Action for Diabetes.

Jane Ellison: Responsibility for improving the quality of diabetes care sits with NHS England and clinical commissioning groups.
	NHS England is continuing to develop the Diabetes Action Plan. This document will set out clearly how NHS England will drive improved outcomes for patients with diabetes. NHS England advises that it aims to publish the plan by the end of this year.

Diabetes

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  if he will list the tariff payments issued to secondary care providers for carrying out diabetes treatments;
	(2)  if he will list the value of tariff payments issued to secondary care providers for carrying out diabetes treatments in each year since 2010.

Daniel Poulter: The mandatory tariffs for the years 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14 are available on the Department's website:
	2010-11:
	http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130107105354/http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_112284
	2011-12:
	http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130507170152/https:/www.gov.uk/government/publications/confirmation-of-payment-by-results-pbr-arrangements-for-2011-12
	2012-13:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/confirmation-of-payment-by-results-pbr-arrangements-for-2012-13
	2013-14:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/payment-by-results-pbr-operational-guidance-and-tariffs
	For in-patient care provided for patients with diabetes; the Healthcare Resource Group (HRG) tariff payable to the provider will depend on the number and type of procedures undertaken during the spell in hospital. While it is not possible to provide a definitive list of the possible tariffs that could have been generated by a diabetic patient's spell in hospital, there are a number of HRGs listed in chapter K and chapter P whose titles relate explicitly to diabetes care.
	For out-patient attendances, there are two Treatment Function Codes (TFCs) for which mandatory tariffs have been provided which relate explicitly to diabetes: TFC 307 (diabetic medicine) and TFC 263 (paediatric diabetic medicine).

Health

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of former Directors of Public Health who now work for Public Health England.

Jane Ellison: Since April 2013 Public Health England (PHE) has appointed nine people directly from a post as Director of Public Health (DPH). All of these appointments are to posts responsible for delivering front line public health services in local areas where close working with local authorities and DPH/their teams is a key requirement.
	All posts were appointed following fair and open competition consistent with the Civil Service Recruitment Principles and in accordance with Department's good practice guidance on the appointment of medical and dental consultants. These numbers are small in the context of the overall number of PHE and local authority posts.

Health

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of local authorities currently employing acting or interim Directors of Public Health.

Jane Ellison: Nationally there are 152 local authorities (LAs) who employ 134 Directors of Public Health (DPH) (taking into account agreed sharing arrangements). There are 33 LAs who have agreed sharing arrangements. Most of these arrangements are where one DPH covers two LAs (nine instances covering 18 LAs), a smaller number have a three-way sharing arrangement (three instances covering nine LAs) and a single instance where one DPH covers six small LAs.
	Currently 105 of the 134 (78%) DPH posts are filled substantively by Directors of Public Health, i.e. a permanently appointed DPH is in post.
	There are currently 29 vacancies, all (100%) of which are all covered on an interim basis and, of the 29 current vacancies, 11 (38%) are under active recruitment in which adverts have been released and/or interview dates set.

Health Education England

Liz Kendall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the current (a) budget, (b) number of staff employed and (c) budget for staff salaries is for Health Education England.

Daniel Poulter: Health Education England (HEE) has a budget of £4.886 billion in 2013-14.
	HEE directly employs 1,872 full-time equivalent staff. The salaries budget for the staff directly employed by HEE is £107.7 million.
	These figures include staff from HEE and the local education and. training boards that are responsible for the training and education of healthcare staff within their area.
	HEE works to improve the quality of health and healthcare for the people and patients of England, through educating, training and developing health and healthcare staff. HEE is employer-led, working with those who deliver health and healthcare services, to provide the education, training and lifelong development of its work force, ensuring it has the right skills and values, in the right place at the right time, to better meet the needs and wants of patients—now and in the future.
	HEE has established 13 committees, known as local education and training boards (LETBs), which cover the whole of England.
	LETBs provide local delivery and leadership. LETBs are the forum for providers and professionals to work collectively to improve the quality of education and training in their local area and to meet needs of service providers, patients and the public.

Health Visitors

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress he has made against his target of increasing the number of health visitors by 50 per cent by 2015.

Daniel Poulter: The Government is committed to growing, by April 2015, the health visitor workforce by 4,200 and transforming health visiting services to improve health outcomes and reduce inequalities.
	The latest workforce data (for August 2013(1)) shows the total number of health visitors nationally is 9,066 full time equivalents.
	(1) Published on 21 November 2013 by the Health and Social Care Information Centre.
	This is 974 more health visitors compared to the May 2010 baseline of 8,092, and equates to 23.2% of the 4,200 extra health visitors required by April 2015. Further significant growth is expected between September and November 2013 as health visiting students complete their training and join the workforce.

Health Visitors

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what the retention rate of health visitors has been (a) nationally and (b) in each local authority area in each year since 2010;
	(2)  how many health visitors were working in (a) each constituency, (b) each local authority and (c) total in each of the last four years.

Daniel Poulter: The total number of health visitors in England in each of the last four years (by full-time equivalent) is shown in the table.
	Information about the number of health visitors working in the last four years is not available at either constituency or local authority level.
	Information about the retention rate of health visitors is not recorded centrally and is not available in either of the formats requested.
	
		
			 As at July each year: Health visitors (full-time equivalent) 
			 2010 7,965 
			 2011 7,714 
			 2012 8,080 
			 2013 (1)9,103 
			 (1) Until December 2012, health visitor workforce data was published by the Health and Social Care Information Centre as part of the Hospital and Community Health Services workforce publication. It was based on use of the electronic staff record (ESR) and thus did not include health visitors employed in organisations such as local authorities and social enterprises that do not usually use the ESR, A new health visitor minimum data set was published from December 2012 which includes health visitors employed by organisations not using the ESR. This supports the Government's commitment to recruit 4,200 more health visitors by April 2015 and better reflects the true health visiting workforce.

Mental Health Services

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effect of legal highs on levels of demand for mental health services.

Jane Ellison: In the short term, people may suffer acute psychological/psychiatric adverse effects when intoxicated with new psychoactive substances (NPS), just as is the case with alcohol and other drugs. Effects which wear off as the person recovers from intoxication do not require the intervention of mental health teams.
	A summary of the health harms of drugs, which was published by the Department in August 2011, documents where mental health problems have been associated with drug use, including NPS which are sometimes referred to as legal highs. A copy of the report has already been placed in the Library, and is available at:
	www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/215470/dh_129674.pdf
	The Department's executive agency, Public Health England is supporting, and contributing clinical expertise to, the development of the first set of clinical guidance on the acute management and treatment of NPS, called project NEPTUNE, being developed by the Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust. This includes consideration of co-occurring mental health issues.

Mental Illness: Smoking

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of any link between smoking and mental health; and what estimate he has made of the proportion of smokers who have also reported having a mental health problem.

Norman Lamb: We know that smoking is around twice as common among people with mental disorders and that a third of all cigarettes smoked in England are smoked by people with a mental disorder.
	In contrast to the marked decline in smoking prevalence in the general population, smoking among those with mental disorders has changed little, if at all, over the past 20 years.
	Up to 3 million smokers in the United Kingdom, 30% of all smokers, have evidence of mental disorder and up to 1 million have a longstanding condition. Smoking and particularly high levels of nicotine dependence, are especially common among people in forensic psychiatric settings and prisons, homeless people, and those with alcohol or other drug misuse.

Mental Illness: Young Offenders

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what support is provided to young offenders with mental health problems.

Norman Lamb: Health care for young offenders with mental health problems is available across the criminal justice system in young offender institutions, other secure accommodation or in the community. The same range and quality of health care treatments should be available for young offenders as is available for other young people.
	Liaison and diversion services are currently being rolled out across England for people of all ages, in police custody and at court. These services will identify, assess and refer young offenders with mental health problems to the most appropriate services for treatment and support.

NHS: Public Appointments

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many women have been members of NHS boards in each of the last five years.

Jane Ellison: The table shows the number of women appointed to NHS boards over the last five years on 1 April: this includes primary care trusts (PCTs), strategic health authorities (SHA), and NHS trusts. This information is not held centrally for NHS foundation trusts. PCTs and SHAs were abolished on 31. March 2013, so the figure for 2013 represents appointments to NHS trusts only.
	
		
			  As at 1 April each year 
			  2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 
			 Total appointments 1,608 1,678 1,634 1,851 598 
			 Number of women 549 586 584 639 204 
			 Percentage of women 34 35 36 35 34 
		
	
	At November 2013, 35% of those appointed to NHS trust boards are women.

Nurses: Prisons

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on how many occasions each prison has had no nurse on duty since 1 January 2013.

Norman Lamb: This information is not collected centrally by NHS England.

Obesity and Diabetes

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the roles and responsibilities of Dr Jonathan Valabhji within the NHS are.

Jane Ellison: Jonathan Valabhji is National Clinical Director (NCD) for Obesity and Diabetes at NHS England. He is also Consultant Diabetologist, Physician and Endocrinologist at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust.
	His responsibilities at NHS England include:
	providing high quality clinical advice and promoting best national practice within the fields of diabetes and obesity;
	engaging effectively across the system with patients, clinicians, clinical commissioning groups, specialised commissioning clinical reference groups, strategic clinical and operational delivery networks and NHS England area teams;
	working as a team with NCD colleagues in the NHS England Medical Directorate to design services which provide best care; and
	working with partner organisations including patient groups, Public Health England, the Department of Health, National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, the Health and Social Care Information Centre, Care Quality Commission, Health Education England, colleges, specialty associations, industry, research partners and the third sector to lead innovation and improvement throughout the NHS in England in the fields of diabetes and obesity.

Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 6 November 2013, Official Report, column 16WS, on Pharmaceutical Pricing Regulation Scheme, 
	(1)  if he will (a) restore the small company exemption rate to its level in the earlier pricing scheme and (b) enhance the small company exemption rate;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the effect on (a) inward investment, (b) growth of emerging biopharmaceutical companies based in England and (c) the competitiveness of the UK life sciences industry on the reduction of small company exemptions in the revised pricing scheme; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what discussions his Department had with (a) the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, (b) the Office for Life Sciences and (c) small companies in the biopharmaceutical industry on the reduction of small company exemption in the revised pricing scheme.

Norman Lamb: In respect of the Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme, “2014 PPRS: Heads of Agreement”, a copy of which has already been placed in the Library, it sets out the headline terms of the negotiated agreement reached between the Department and the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI).
	The new scheme provides stability and predictability on the United Kingdom branded medicines pricing environment both to the Government and to all companies who choose to join it, supporting the industry's global competitiveness.
	There is a small company exemption in the Heads of Agreement, which forms part of the negotiated agreement, with all companies with sales of less than £5 million in the previous calendar year being exempted from making payments to the Department.
	The UK Life Sciences sector is one of the strongest and most productive in the world and the “Strategy for UK Life Sciences” sets out how Government is supporting this sector. The Government's assessment is that pricing does not materially affect investment in the UK. The global biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry remains a valued partner in the UK Government's plans for a vibrant economy and an NHS that is fit for the future. We value the industry's current investment in the UK and will continue to support the sector through the strategy.
	The Department holds regular discussions with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Office for Life Sciences within it and has been in close contact with officials there throughout the negotiations. The ABPI negotiating team included specific representation for smaller companies.
	The Department is working with the ABPI to publish the full scheme as soon as possible.

Pregnancy: Mental Health Services

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of mother and baby mental health units in the UK; and if he will publish a regional list of such units.

Daniel Poulter: NHS England commission 17 in-patient mother and baby units, 11 of which have integrated Perinatal Community Psychiatric Teams:
	Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS FT
	Beadnell Mother and Baby Unit, Morpeth, Northumberland
	Leeds Partnership NHS FT
	Mother and Baby Unit, The Mount, Leeds(1)
	Manchester Mental Health and Social Care Trust
	The Anderson Ward, Wythenshawe Hospital, Manchester(1)
	Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust
	Margaret Oates Mother and Baby Unit, Queen's Medical Centre, Nottingham(1)
	()Derbyshire Mental Health Services NHS FT
	The Beeches, Derby City General Hospital, Derby(1)
	()Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust
	Mother and Baby Unit, Glenfield Hospital, Leicester(1)
	South Staffordshire and Shropshire Healthcare NHS FT
	Brockington Mother and Baby Unit, St George's Hospital, Stafford(1)
	Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS FT
	Mother and Baby Unit, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham(1)
	Hertfordshire Partnership NHS FT
	Thumbswood Mother and Baby Unit, Queen Elizabeth II Hospital, Welwyn
	North Essex Partnership NHS FT
	Rainbow Mother and Baby Unit, The Linden Centre, Chelmsford, Essex
	East London NHS FT
	Margaret Oates Mother and Baby Unit, Homerton Hospital, London(1)
	()Central and Northwest London NHS FT
	Coombe Wood Perinatal Mental Health Unit, Coombe Wood, London
	South London and Maudsley NHS FT
	Channi Kumar Mother and Baby Unit, Bethlem Royal Hospital, Kent(1)
	()Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health NHS FT
	New Horizons Mother and Baby Centre, Southmead Hospital, Bristol
	Hampshire Partnership NHS FT
	Perinatal Services (Mother and Baby Unit), Royal Hampshire County Hospital, Winchester, Hampshire(1)
	()Dorset Healthcare University NHS FT
	Florence House Mother and Baby Unit, Bournemouth
	The Eastbourne Clinic
	The Eastbourne Clinic Mother and Baby Unit, Eastbourne, East Sussex.
	(1 )Units that have an integrated linked Specialised Perinatal Community Psychiatric Team.
	Source:
	NHS England.

Prescriptions: Fees and Charges

Shaun Woodward: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what the average annual cost of prescription charges is for organ transplant recipients in England and Wales; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what his policy is on the payment of prescription charges by organ transplant recipients for essential drugs related to their transplant and required to manage their long-term health; if he will introduce free prescriptions for such patients; and if he will make a statement.

Norman Lamb: Information on the condition for which a medicine is prescribed is not collected centrally.
	Around 95% of prescription items in England are dispensed, without charge at the point of dispensing, through the exemption arrangements we have in place. This figure is largely made up of items dispensed to people who are exempt, but includes items dispensed to people with prescription prepayment certificates (PPCs). People who have to pay national health service prescription charges and need multiple prescriptions can save money with a PPC as there is no limit to the number of items the holder may obtain through the certificate. The current price of a three-month PPC is £29.10 and a 12-month certificate £104. If a patient pays a prescription charge, this is currently £7.85 for each dispensed item.
	In the light of the challenging financial context, the Government announced in the spending review, published in October 2010, that we would not extend free prescriptions to all those with a long-term condition in England, and we do not intend to add any medical conditions to the list of medical exemptions. Prescription charges in England raise valuable income, in the region of £450 million each year, which helps the NHS to maintain vital services for patients.

Prostate Cancer

Yvonne Fovargue: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what the annual cost to the NHS is of providing treatment to patients suffering from prostate cancer;
	(2)  how many prostate-specific antigen tests take place in the NHS each year;
	(3)  how much it costs the NHS to provide a prostate-specific antigen blood test.

Jane Ellison: Information concerning the number of prostate specific antigen (PSA) tests that take place in the national health service each year and the cost of individual PSA tests are not held centrally. However, we understand the average price is in the region of £35. The commissioning and pricing of PSA tests is a local matter.
	Expenditure data relating to the treatment of patients suffering from prostate cancer is not available in the format requested. Programme budgeting data collected from primary care trusts (PCTs) can provide estimated aggregate PCT expenditure on urological cancers, which includes prostate cancer.
	In the following table, NHS England has provided data for NHS spend on urological cancers in 2011-12, the latest financial year for which this data is available. It is important to note that it is not always possible for commissioners to break down their expenditure to a specific programme category, therefore not all expenditure relating to the identification and treatment of cancers and tumours will be included within this estimate. Areas of expenditure that are difficult to estimate include general practitioner costs, diagnostic imaging and community care costs. Not all expenditure on radiotherapy, chemotherapy or high cost drugs will be included within the estimate of urological cancers, and will be included instead within the “Cancers and Tumours (Other)” category.
	
		
			 Estimated NHS expenditure on cancer and tumours in 2011-12 
			  £ million 
			 All cancers and tumours 5,501 
			 Urological cancers 354 
			 Cancers and tumours (Other) 2,998

Public Health England

Liz Kendall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much Public Health England spent on consultancy services in (a) 2012-13 and (b) 2013-14 to date.

Jane Ellison: In 2012-13 Public Health England (PHE) was established and became operational on 1 April 2013 so is reporting no costs prior to that.
	In the first six months for 2013-14 of PHE's operation, the total expenditure on management consultancy according to the Cabinet Office definition was nil.
	The relevant definition of Consultancy issued by the Department on 1 April 2013 as defined by Cabinet Office is:
	“The provision of management, objective advice and assistance relating to strategy, structure, management or operations of an organisation in pursuit of its purposes and objectives. Such assistance will be provided outside the business as usual environment when in house skills are not available and will usually be time-limited. Service may include the identification of options with recommendations and/or assistance with (but not delivery of) the implementation of solutions”.

Radiotherapy

Tessa Munt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  pursuant to the answer of 11 November 2013, Official Report, column 504W, on Radiotherapy, for what reason a tariff for multi-fraction stereotactic radiotherapy has not been included within the 2014-15 National Tariff Payment System: A Consultation Notice, published by NHS England and Monitor on 3 October 2013, Annex 4a, section 1.2.1;
	(2)  pursuant to the answer of 11 November 2013, Official Report, column 504W, on Radiotherapy and the 2014-15 National Tariff Payment System: A Consultation Notice, published by NHS England and Monitor on 3 October 2013, section 6.4.3, how NHS England intends to meet its obligations to create a national tariff for stereotactic ablative radiotherapy.

Daniel Poulter: It is a matter for NHS England and Monitor, the independent regulator, as to when and how a national tariff is created for stereotactic ablative radiotherapy. Relatively few changes are being made to the national tariff for 2014-15, in line with an approach of limiting uncertainty in the system and providing space for local experimentation in payment design, for example to support integrated care.
	Before expanding the scope of the mandatory national tariff, NHS England and Monitor will want to take advice to establish clinical priorities and the strength of the clinical evidence base. They will also want to be assured that any national prices they set are underpinned by robust cost data. This in no way prevents commissioners purchasing stereotactic ablative radiotherapy services at locally-agreed prices.

Secondment

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many private sector employees have been seconded by the private sector to his Department; what the name was of the company from which they were seconded; and whether any of those employees have worked on drafting legislation.

Daniel Poulter: The Department does not hold information centrally about the organisations from which it seconds individuals. Gathering that information could be done only at disproportionate cost.

Secondment

Tessa Munt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many personnel from private companies are currently seconded to (a) his Department and (b) NHS England; from which companies each such personnel are drawn; and what functions such staff undertake.

Daniel Poulter: The core Department does not hold information centrally about the organisations from which it seconds individuals. Gathering that information could be done only at disproportionate cost.
	Five or fewer individuals are seconded in to NHS England from private companies. Details are not given as otherwise they could be personally identified, infringing their rights to privacy under current data protection legislation.

Speech and Language Disorders

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what progress NHS England has made in identifying historic spending levels for augmentative and alternative communication services;
	(2)  what quantitative information on augmentative and alternative communication provision NHS England will collect from clinical reference groups; and if he will make a statement.

Norman Lamb: Figures concerning the historical spend on augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) services cannot be provided. Prior to 1 April 2013, there was no national NHS commissioning of AAC services. There was also no standard, nationally consistent definition of AAC services that were the commissioning and funding responsibility of the national health service. There was also a mix of commissioning agencies involved in AAC provision, including from the social care and education sector, charitable and third sector funding agencies and NHS commissioned assessment and funding of specialised AAC aids.
	In terms of collecting quantitative information on AAC provision, NHS area teams monitor quantitative information on activity, finance and key quality indicators from providers of AAC as part of NHS England's formal contract and in line with the national contract requirements.

CABINET OFFICE

Consumers: Complaints

Dave Watts: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will bring forward legislative proposals to allow regulators to introduce fairness to customer criteria when assessing complaints.

Oliver Letwin: There are no current plans to bring forward legislative proposals to allow regulators to introduce fairness to customer criteria when assessing complaints.
	I recently announced the Government's intention to review complaints handling within public services, and the role of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman.

Employment: Chelmsford

Simon Burns: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  what comparative assessment he has made of the number of people in full-time and part-time employment in Chelmsford constituency;
	(2)  how many people in Chelmsford constituency are in full-time equivalent employment.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Peter Fullerton, dated November 2013
	On behalf of the Director General for the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Questions asking how many people in Chelmsford constituency are in full-time equivalent employment (175964) and what comparative assessment has been made of the number of people in full-time and part-time employment in Chelmsford constituency. (175963)
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles employment statistics for local areas from the Annual Population Survey (APS) following International Labour Organisation (ILO) definitions.
	The number of people in Chelmsford constituency who were in full-time employment was 42,100 and part-time employment was 15,800 for the latest period available. These estimates are compiled from APS interviews held during the period July 2012 to June 2013. People interviewed self-classify themselves to full-time and part-time employment.
	As with any sample survey, estimates from the APS are subject to a margin of uncertainty.
	National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and claimant count are available on the NOMIS website at:
	http://www.nomisweb.co.uk

EU Law

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  to which EU directives within his Department's areas of responsibility the Government has formally opted into in each financial year since May 2010; on what dates each such directive was signed; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what EU directives within his Department's areas of responsibility have come into force without the need for an opt-in decision in each financial year since May 2010; on what dates each such directive came into force; and if he will make a statement.

Francis Maude: Details of all EU directives that the UK has opted into pursuant to protocol 21 to the treaties on the functioning of the European Union since May 2010 are listed on the Government's JHA opt-in web page at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/206297/2JHAopt-inwebpage_update _data_v0_1.pdf
	In the Minister for Europe, my right hon. Friend the Member for Aylesbury (Mr Lidington)’s written ministerial statement of 20 January 2011, Official Report, columns 51-52WS, the Government committed to a number of measures to strengthen parliamentary scrutiny of JHA measures, in particular to make written statements to Parliament on each opt-in decision and to set aside Government time for debates in both Houses in circumstances where there is particularly strong parliamentary interest in an opt-in decision.

Iraq Committee of Inquiry

David Amess: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the final overall cost to the public purse of the Chilcot Inquiry into the Iraq War; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what recent discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer about the cost to the public purse of the Chilcot Inquiry into the Iraq War; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  how many officials are currently employed by the Chilcot Inquiry into the Iraq War, by grade; how this compares with each year since the Inquiry was established; how much has been spent on salaries in each year during this period; and if he will make a statement;
	(4)  how much the Chilcot Inquiry into the Iraq War (a) budgeted and (b) spent on security in each year since its establishment; and if she will make a statement;
	(5)  what funding the Government plans to allocate to the Chilcot Inquiry into the Iraq War for the financial years (a) 2013-14 and (b) 2014-15; and if he will make a statement.

Francis Maude: The Inquiry's expenditure, from its inception to the end of 2012-13, is £7,479,400. As well as the five members of the Committee, the Inquiry is staffed by a Secretariat of 11, with some additional part-time support. Staff costs for 2012-13 were £866,200. The Inquiry is housed in secure accommodation within the government estate. Details of internal discussions are not normally disclosed.

Low Incomes

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office pursuant to question 173699, what the distinction is between the terms relative low income and poverty as used in respect of national statistics; when this distinction was first introduced; and what policy considerations informed the decision to introduce the term relative low income.

Esther McVey: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions.
	The Government uses a range of measures to quantify poverty. Relative low income is one measure, and has been used in the Households Below Average Income National Statistics publication for some time. The term relative income was first used in the "Households Below Average Income 1979 to 1991/92" publication. Relative low income is an internationally recognised term, and someone is in relative low income if they are in a household that receives less than 60% of the median equivalised net household income ('average income'). Other main measures of poverty presented in the Households Below Average Income National Statistics publication include:
	Absolute low income—where someone lives in a household that receives less than 60% of the average household income in 2010-11 adjusted for inflation;
	Combined low income and material deprivation for children—where a child is in material deprivation and lives in households where income is less than 70% of the average household income;
	Persistent poverty—where someone lives in a household where income is less than 60% of average income for at least three out of the last four years;
	Material deprivation for pensioners; and
	Threshold variations for relative and absolute low income—where someone lives in a household that receives less than 50 or 70% of the average household income. These measures are supplementary to the 60% measure.
	We want to develop better measures of child poverty, which include, but go beyond income to provide a more accurate picture of the reality of child poverty and drive the right action. Our consultation on how best to measure child poverty closed on 15 February. The complexity of the issue means that we need to take time to ensure we have the best option for measuring child poverty. We will publish our response as soon as we can.

Ministerial Responsibility

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office when he plans to publish an updated list of ministerial responsibilities.

Francis Maude: The list of ministerial responsibilities is currently being updated following the recent Government reshuffle. An updated version will be published shortly.

New Towns: Bedfordshire

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what recent discussions he has had on the potential construction of a new town within the boundaries of the Mid Bedfordshire constituency.

Francis Maude: In line with the practice of previous Administrations, details of internal meetings are not normally disclosed.

Secondment

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  how many private sector employees have been seconded by the private sector to (a) his Department and (b) the Prime Minister's Office; what the name was of the company from which they were seconded; and whether any of those employees have worked on drafting legislation;
	(2)  how many private sector employees have been seconded by the private sector to his Office; what the name was of the company from which they were seconded; and whether any of those employees have worked on drafting legislation.

Francis Maude: The Prime Minister's Office and the Deputy Prime Minister's Office are integral parts of the Cabinet Office and are covered by this response.
	As part of our Civil Service Reform Programme, we are increasing the dynamism and flexibility of the civil service by making it easier for staff at all levels to move between the civil service and private sector. A new central secondment and interchange programme will deliver 30 outward secondments of our most talented civil servants by April 2014, increasing to 100 secondments by April 2015. These are in addition to the approximate 200 existing secondments and interchanges organised separately by Departments each year.
	Since January 2011 there have been 33 secondees into my Department. In line with the practice of previous Administrations, exact numbers are not usually disclosed to protect individual privacy when the numbers are five or fewer. Seven of these secondees came from Ernst and Young.
	Information on whether any of the secondees have worked on drafting legislation is not held centrally.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Constituencies

Sheryll Murray: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what are the cost implications of delaying the introduction of boundary changes and more equal Parliamentary constituencies until 2018.

Nicholas Clegg: It is for Parliament to determine whether the recommendations of a boundary review should be implemented. The 2013 review was moved to 2018 following an amendment to the Electoral Registration and Administration (ERA) Act 2013.
	Provision of £11.9 million was made for the boundary review that was due to report in 2013. At the time that the ERA Bill received Royal Assent in January 2013, the four Boundary Commissions had spent around £7 million on the review, and that expenditure had already been committed.

Travel

Christopher Leslie: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the cost of travel within the UK was for his Office in each year since 2010; and how much of this was spent on (a) hire cars, (b) helicopter hire, (c) hotel accommodation and (d) subsistence.

Nicholas Clegg: A list of visits made by the DPM within the UK will be published shortly.

Visits Abroad

Christopher Leslie: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many overseas trips, and at what total cost, his Department made in each year since 2010; and what the costs of (a) flights, (b) internal travel, (c) hotel accommodation and (d) subsistence were of each trip.

Nicholas Clegg: The Government publishes on a quarterly basis, information about Ministers' visits overseas, and copies can be found in the Library of the House.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Broadband

Nigel Adams: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many properties which previously had access to broadband speeds of under 1MBps now receive broadband of speeds greater than 10MBps under the Superfast Britain scheme. [R]

Edward Vaizey: The information requested is not available, but the Government's broadband programme support is currently helping to make available superfast broadband to 10,000 more premises a week that would not otherwise have been able to get a superfast service.

Broadband: Dorset

Robert Syms: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what progress has been made in rolling out broadband to (a) towns and (b) villages in Dorset.

Edward Vaizey: Dorset county council entered into a contract earlier this year to extend superfast broadband coverage to over 70,000 premises that would otherwise not have it. The project is currently in the survey and design phase, prior to network implementation.

Broadband: Rural Areas

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when the next round of applications will be opened for the rural community broadband fund.

Edward Vaizey: The Rural Community Broadband Fund which is led by DEFRA has completed three rounds of applications and there are no plans to invite any further applications. The Government has announced, however, that it is investing up to £250 million, locally match-funded, to extend superfast broadband provision from current coverage plans so that 95% of UK premises will have access to superfast broadband by 2017 and we are exploring with industry how to expand coverage further, using more innovative fixed, wireless and mobile broadband solutions, to reach at least 99% of premises in the UK.

Broadband: Rural Areas

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent discussions she has had with BT on the rollout of broadband in rural areas.

Edward Vaizey: DCMS Ministers have regular discussions with many different organisations, including about broadband, and including with BT.

Broadband: Wales

Robert Syms: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what progress her Department is making on rolling out superfast broadband in Wales; and if she will make a statement.

Edward Vaizey: At the end of October 2013 over 35,000 premises in Wales had had superfast broadband made available to them with support from the Government's broadband programme that would not otherwise of been able to receive a superfast broadband service.

Commonwealth Games 2014

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what (a) provision is being made and (b) assistance is being provided by her Department to enable firms providing services to the Commonwealth Games in 2014 to make use of their contribution to the Games for marketing and promotional purposes.

Helen Grant: During the Commonwealth Games HMG will be hosting a British Business House for up to three days, at Glasgow City Chambers. This will provide a platform to showcase UK businesses.

Energy

Ian Swales: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what progress she has made on improving the energy efficiency of her Department.

Helen Grant: The Department reduced its energy consumption by 9% in 2012-13. In April 2013 the Department moved into 100 Parliament Street and is now a tenant of HMRC who have responsibility for the energy efficiency of the building.

Football: Finance

Robert Syms: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps she is taking to support the financial security of non-league football clubs.

Helen Grant: It is the responsibility of the football authorities to regulate, but the Government will continue to push the football authorities for tougher regulation from within the game to deliver important financial governance reforms, including a new club licensing system which we expect to address concerns around the financial sustainability of clubs.

Google

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions her Department has had with (a) Which?, (b) Consumer Futures and (c) other consumer organisations on the European Commission's anti-trust investigation into Google.

Edward Vaizey: DCMS has not held any discussions with Which?, Consumer Futures or other consumer organisations on the European Commission’s anti-trust investigation into Google.

Google

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions her Department has had with the Office of Fair Trading on the European Commission's anti-trust investigation into Google.

Edward Vaizey: DCMS has not held any discussions with the Office of Fair Trading on the European Commission's anti-trust investigation into Google.

Tourism: Coastal Areas

Robert Syms: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps she is taking to increase tourism spend in (a) Poole and (b) other seaside resorts.

Helen Grant: As part of their Strategic Framework For Tourism in England 2010-2020, VisitEngland developed, in partnership with the industry, an action plan for seaside resorts which seeks to maximise the potential of seaside resorts in England and contribute to 5% growth, year on year, in the English tourism market by 2020. Seaside resorts, including Poole, regularly feature in VisitEngland imagery in thematic campaigns, funded through the Government's Regional Growth Fund. New thematic promotions in 2014 will focus on activities such as beach sports, water sports and exploration of the coast—all of which will help increase visitor expenditure in seaside resorts including Poole.

WOMEN AND EQUALITIES

Energy

Ian Swales: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what progress she has made in improving the energy efficiency of the Government Equalities Office.

Helen Grant: Figures for the Government Equalities Office, which joined DCMS in September 2012 are held by the Home Office, its previous parent Department.

Sexuality

Diana Johnson: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what her policy is on advertisements of gay-to-straight conversion therapies; and if she will make a statement.

Helen Grant: Advertising in the UK is regulated by the independent Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) which is ultimately responsible for setting the standards in advertising. If advertisements mislead or cause harm or distress, the matter will be dealt with first by the ASA.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Carers

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his most recent assessment is of the effect on carers of the recent reforms of the welfare system.

Michael Penning: We have not undertaken an assessment on the cumulative effect on carers of welfare reforms. The Treasury regularly produces analysis of the cumulative impact of all coalition changes, including welfare, on households across the income distribution.
	Given the variables involved, the impact of welfare changes cannot be seen in isolation. Even the IFS has acknowledged that the effects of dynamic reforms such as those to disability living allowance and housing benefit cannot be precisely modelled.
	We have published assessments of the impact on carers as a result of reforms to disability living allowance and the introduction of personal independence payment in the impact assessment, last updated on 15 May 2012, the equality impact assessment, last updated on 4 May 2012, and a specific policy briefing document detailing the impacts on recipients of carer's allowance published on 9 April 2013. All these documents are available on the Government website at:
	www.gov.uk

Children: Maintenance

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to his Department's publication, strengthening families, promoting parental responsibility, Cm 7990, when his Department plans to commence the proposed six-month period of live running with new cases before introducing child maintenance charges and starting to move the first cases off the old CSA systems.

Steve Webb: The new Child Maintenance scheme was opened as a pathfinder and started taking a proportion of new live cases on 10 December 2012. The case load and the proportion of new applications taken has steadily expanded since then and the scheme will be open to all remaining applicants by the end of the year.
	As we have previously said, we will only introduce charges and begin closing existing Child Support Agency cases when we are clear the scheme is working well.

Employment and Support Allowance

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on how many occasions in each of the last five years decisionmakers in his Department have used their powers of supersession to review initial recommendations that claimants were eligible for employment support allowance.

Esther McVey: The Department does not hold information on the number of occasions when a decision maker has used their powers of supersession, following a repeat work capability assessment, to subsequently determine that ESA should no longer be paid.

Employment and Support Allowance: Chelmsford

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in Chelmsford constituency claim employment and support allowance; how many such claimants had their claims turned down in the last year; and how many such people are appealing that decision to the first tier tribunal.

Esther McVey: Information requested for claims to employment and support allowance (ESA) and work capability assessments (WCA) and appeals at parliamentary constituency level is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
	The information we do have for the number of ESA claims made, where the initial functional assessment has been completed, showing all outcomes of appeals heard on Fit for Work decisions by month of claim start, Great Britain can be found at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/224809/esa_wca_201307_v0c.xls

Funeral Payments

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department paid in social fund funeral payments in the last year for which figures are available; and how much was accounted for by (a) cemetery fees, (b) cremation fees, (c) doctors' fees and (d) other charges.

Steve Webb: In 2012-13, the total social fund expenditure on funeral payments was £43.1 million, rounded to the nearest £100,000. The Department does not hold information on the breakdown of this amount into the different fees involved.
	The information provided is management information. The Department's preference is to answer all parliamentary questions using official/national statistics but in this case only management information is available. It is not quality assured to the same extent as official/national statistics and there are some issues with the data, for example, this amount does not include expenditure on applications which were processed clerically and have not yet been entered on to the social fund computer system.

Housing Benefit

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many households received (a) housing benefit and (b) local housing allowance in (i) April 2010 and (ii) the most recent date for which data is available.

Steve Webb: The information requested for the number of claimants receiving (a) housing benefit and (b) local housing allowance in (i) April 2010 and (ii) the most recent date for which data is available, which is August 2013, can be found at:
	https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk
	Guidance on how to extract the information required can be found at:
	https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Stat-Xplore_User_Guide.htm

Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many tenants subject to the under-occupancy penalty (a) paid more rent for their existing property, (b) have since moved to a smaller property, (c) have been granted an exemption, (d) have a decision on their case pending and (e) have received other financial assistance from his Department in each local authority area since its implementation.

Esther McVey: The information is as follows.
	(a) The most recent data shows 522,905 working age housing benefit recipients in Great Britain are currently subject to a deduction in their housing benefit as a result of the removal of the spare room subsidy. The information about how many of those affected are making up the shortfall in rent is not available.
	(b) This information is currently not available. An independent evaluation over two years in a range of geographical locations across Great Britain is under way. It includes research on responses to the policy.
	(c) The Department recognises that certain people will need an additional room over and above that allocated using the size criteria rules. As such certain easements are in place for groups including foster carers, service families, visiting overnight carers and severely disabled children who are not able to share a room because of their disability. Local authorities are responsible for administering housing benefit and applying the easements. Information about how many housing benefit claimants have had an easement to their eligibility applied is not available.
	(d) We do not hold this information.
	(e) The Department is collecting six-monthly returns detailing DHP awards in each local authority. This includes the number of payments made, but not the number of claimants granted a payment (a claimant can have had more than one application over the period).

Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what (a) number and (b) proportion of people affected by the under-occupancy penalty were disabled in each region of the UK.

Esther McVey: Updated estimates are not available as to the number and proportion of people affected by this measure who are living with a disability.
	When the measure was introduced on 1 April 2013, the Department estimated that there could be around 420,000 (63%) households affected by the removal of the spare room subsidy where either the claimant or the partner reported a Disability Discrimination Act recognised disability. However, this figure is reduced to 180,000 (27%) where either the claimant or the partner are in receipt of disability living allowance.
	
		
			 Disabled SRS HB claimants affected by RSRS (2013-14) 
			  Caseload Percentage of those affected 
			 Overall total caseload for RSRS 660,000 — 
			 DDA 420,000 63 
			 Any DLA 180,000 27

Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many households affected by the under-occupancy penalty include someone in receipt of carer's allowance.

Esther McVey: We estimate that around 50,000 households affected by the removal of the spare room subsidy policy are in receipt of carer's allowance.

Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many households affected by the under-occupancy penalty include a carer.

Esther McVey: We estimate that around 60,000 households affected by the removal of the spare room subsidy policy are in receipt of carer's allowance or have an underlying entitlement to carer's allowance.

Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the cost to his Department was of compiling and publishing its research report, Public perceptions of the removal of the spare room subsidy, published on 8 November 2013; and how much his Department paid to Ipsos MORI for the work undertaken on the report.

Esther McVey: The Department paid Ipsos MORI a total of £14,700 for polling on .the removal of the spare room subsidy. This included the design of the online poll, the collection and analysis of the data, and the writing of the research report.

Job Creation: Essex

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking to create more employment opportunities for young people in (a) Chelmsford constituency and (b) Essex.

Esther McVey: Our Youth Contract, worth nearly £1 billion, builds on the substantial support already available to help unemployed young people enter work. The contract includes more intensive support for all 18 to 24-year-olds, work experience and sector-based work academy places, and a new wage incentive scheme delivered through the Work programme.
	In Chelmsford in the year to October 2013 we have seen a reduction in the youth unemployed claimant count of 115, a 20% fall and in Essex for the same period we seen a reduction in the youth unemployment claimant count of 1,575, a 21% fall.

Jobcentre Plus

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many staff were employed on temporary contracts by Jobcentre Plus in (a) 2008, (b) 2009, (c) 2010, (d) 2011, (e) 2012 and (f) January to October 2013;
	(2)  how many staff were directly employed by Jobcentre Plus in (a) 2008, (b) 2009, (c) 2010, (d) 2011, (e) 2012 and (f) January to October 2013.

Michael Penning: Jobcentre Plus was re-structured and absorbed into a revised DWP Operations structure in October 2011. Since that point, it has no longer existed as a separate organisation. This means the information the right hon. Member is seeking beyond September 2011 is not available.
	The following table combines a response to both the questions the right hon. Member raised in terms of staff employed on temporary contracts and those directly employed by Jobcentre Plus as at December 2008; December 2009; December 2010 and at September 2011. The figures are 'staff in post', ie people are counted as a single unit irrespective of the hours they work.
	
		
			 Period Staff employed on temporary contracts Total staff employed directly (ie permanent staff plus temporary staff) 
			 31 December 2008 2,494 75,059 
			 31 December 2009 3,950 92,819 
			 31 December 2010 47 83,937 
			 30 September 2011 5 75,323

Jobcentre Plus

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many jobcentre offices there were in (a) 2008, (b) 2009, (c) 2010, (d) 2011, (e) 2012 and (f) January to October 2013.

Esther McVey: The information requested is detailed in the following table.
	
		
			  Number of jobcentres 
			 2008 (1)— 
			 2009 741 
			 2010 741 
			 2011 740 
			 2012 722 
			 January to October 2013 718 
			 (1) Information not available

Jobseeker's Allowance

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many jobseeker's allowance claimants there were in (a) April 2010 and (b) the most recent date for which data is available.

Esther McVey: Statistics on the number of jobseeker's allowance claimants in April 2010 and October 2013 can be found at:
	https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/default.asp
	Guidance for users can be found at:
	https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/home/newuser.asp

Jobseeker's Allowance

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether his Department has set a minimum time requirement for online job searching per week as a condition of receiving jobseeker's allowance.

Esther McVey: There is no such minimum time requirement for weekly jobsearch. Jobseeker's allowance claimants are required to take all reasonable steps to give themselves the best prospects of finding work. Those steps must be agreed with their adviser and specifically tailored to each claimant's circumstances.

Jobseekers Allowance: Kingston Upon Hull

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many jobseeker’s allowance claimants in Hull have been sanctioned since 22 October 2012; how many such sanctions have been subsequently overturned; how many such claimants had previously been asked to undertake a literacy course by a jobcentre; and how many claimants were previously claiming employment support allowance.

Esther McVey: The information is tabled as follows:
	
		
			 Number of jobseeker's allowance (JSA) claimants with an adverse JSA sanction decision, and of these, the number overturned upon reconsideration or appeal in Kingston upon Hull local authority, 22 October 2012 to 30 June 2013 
			  Number 
			 Total number of jobseeker's allowance (JSA) claimants with an adverse JSA sanction decision 6,540 
			 Of which:  
			 Decision overturned: Total 1,140 
			 Decision overturned: Following reconsideration 1,050 
		
	
	
		
			 Decision overturned: Following appeal 90 
			 Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Totals will count individuals who have had both a sanction overturned upon reconsideration and also upon appeal. Source: DWP Information, Governance and Security Directorate: JSA Sanctions and Disallowance Decisions Statistics Database. 
		
	
	The information requested how many such claimants had previously been asked to undertake a literacy course or how many claimants were previously claiming employment and support allowance (ESA) is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

National Insurance

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the maximum distance applicants are required to travel to attend an evidence of identity interview when applying for a national insurance number.

Esther McVey: No formal assessment has been made of the maximum distance applicants are required to travel to attend an evidence of identity interview when applying for a national insurance number.

National Insurance

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to increase the number of Jobcentre Plus sites that offer evidence of identity interviews for national insurance number applicants.

Esther McVey: There are no plans to increase the number of Job Centre Plus sites that offer national insurance number applications.

National Insurance

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many applications were made for a national insurance number in each of the last five years.

Esther McVey: The available information on the number of national insurance numbers issued in each of the last five years can be found at and is listed as follows:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dwp-statistics-tabulation-tool
	NINo allocations to adult overseas nationals entering the UK: registrations to March 2009: 686,000
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nino-allocations-to-adult-overseas-nationals-entering-the-uk-registrations-to-march-2009
	The total number of NINo registrations to adult overseas nationals in 2009-10: 573,000
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nino-allocations-to-adult-overseas-nationals-entering-the-uk-registrations-to-march-2010
	The total number of NINo registrations to adult overseas nationals entering the UK in 2010-11: 705,000
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nino-allocations-to-adult-overseas-nationals-entering-the-uk-registrations-to-march-2011
	The total number of NINo registrations to adult overseas nationals entering the UK in 2011-12: 601,000
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-insurance-number-allocations-to-adult-overseas-nationals-entering-the-uk
	The total number of NINo registrations to adult overseas nationals entering the UK in 2012-13: 562,000
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nino-allocations-to-adult-overseas-nationals-entering-the-uk-registrations-to-march-2013

National Insurance: Fraud

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many fraudulent applications for national insurance numbers were detected in each of the last five years.

Esther McVey: Jobcentre Plus does not collect statistical information in relation to how many fraudulent applications were detected for national insurance numbers.

Social Rented Housing: Housing Benefit

Margaret Hodge: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many social housing households in the London borough of Barking and Dagenham are subject to the under-occupancy penalty.

Esther McVey: The information requested for the number of social housing households in the London borough of Barking and Dagenham are subject to the under-occupancy penalty, can be found at:
	https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk
	Guidance on how to extract the information required can be found at:
	https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Stat-Xplore_User_Guide.htm

Social Security Benefits

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in (a) Chelmsford constituency and (b) England were receiving the major working age benefits in April (i) 2010 and (ii) 2013.

Esther McVey: Statistics for working age client group claimants, by statistical group in (a) Chelmsford constituency and (b) England can be found at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-work-pensions/series/dwp-statistics-tabulation-tool
	Guidance for users is available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/203439/tab-tool-guidance.pdf
	This data is published each quarter as at February, May, August and November in each year.

Social Security Benefits

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many jobseeker's allowance and employment and support allowance claims were not paid into a bank account or building society account or a post office card account in 2012-13; and how such claimants received their payments.

Esther McVey: The vast majority of jobseeker's allowance and employment and support allowance claimants are paid by Direct Payment into a bank, building society or Post Office card account. Those unable to open or operate an account of any kind are now paid by Simple Payment, a card based method that enables claimants to access their payments at participating PayPoint outlets.
	Simple Payment was introduced in October 2012 to replace cheque payments which were vulnerable to fraud. Claimants previously paid by cheque were given help and support to move to alternative payment methods including, where appropriate, Simple Payment.
	As at February 2012 the number of jobseeker's allowance and employment and support allowance claimants not being paid into a bank, building society or a Post Office card account was 77,715. By February 2013 this had reduced to 35,125 due to lower claim volumes and many opting to have their payments made by Direct Payment into an account.
	More detailed information is shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Method of payment accounts as at February 2012 and February 2013, Great Britain 
			  Total Payload Accounts Accounts paid by Direct Payment (excluding POCA and Simple Payment) Accounts paid by Direct Payment into a card account at the Post Office) Accounts paid by Simple Payment Accounts paid by cheque 
			 February 2013      
			 Jobseeker’s allowance (JSA) 1,397,930 1,225,195 152,450 7,755 12,530 
			 Employment and support allowance (ESA) 1,369,620 1,116,010 238,775 7,200 7,640 
			       
			 February 2012      
			 Jobseeker’s allowance (JSA) 1,469,280 1,263,560 159,930 n/a 45,785 
			 Employment and support allowance (ESA) 840,400 692,250 116,220 n/a 31,930 
			 Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 5. 2. Figures only relate to accounts live and in payment on the specified date. 3. Figures refer to payment accounts. Claimants with more than one account will be counted for each account. 4.Simple Payment's were introduced from October 2012. 5. POCA represents payment by Post Office card accounts. 6. February 2013 is the latest data we have.

State Retirement Pensions

Gregg McClymont: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 5 June 2013, Official Report, column 1208W, on state retirement pensions, 
	(1)  what proportion of the fewer than 40,000 married and widowed individuals affected by loss of derived entitlement to a basic state pension on their spouse or civil partner's contributions have (a) never been to the UK and (b) lived in the UK for less than 10 years;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse if transition arrangements were made for the fewer than 40,000 married and widowed individuals affected by loss of derived entitlement to a basic state pension on their spouse or civil partner's contributions of enabling them to claim for a further (a) 10 years and (b) 15 years.

Steve Webb: The quoted 40,000 estimate refers only to the number of married or widowed individuals who would be receiving less state pension in Great Britain in 2020 due to the removal of derived entitlement.
	It does not cover overseas pensioners, so does not include an estimate of the number of people who might have derived entitlement to basic state pension under the current system without ever having entered the UK. The model used to produce the estimate starts from a base representing 2006-07 and does not include simulation of migration, so the estimate does not cover individuals who arrive in the UK less than 10 years before claiming a single-tier pension.
	The Government believes that in order to deliver a simple, modern state pension which recognises people's contributions to the economy and wider society, it is necessary to remove the facility to rely on a spouse or civil partner's national insurance record at the earliest opportunity. Furthermore, the Government believes that the broad crediting regime to sufficiently recognise individuals' contributions to society has been in place for long enough to ensure that no one who reaches state pension age today will have those contributions overlooked.
	To put in place any transitional arrangements beyond those we have already provided for women who chose to pay the Reduced Rate Election at any point in the 35 years prior to their state pension age would introduce substantial complexity into the new system for a significant minority of people reaching state pension age after 6 April 2016.
	The 'transition arrangements' in the question propose to provide men and women who are, as at 2020, projected to be receiving a notionally lower state pension due to the removal of derived entitlement with the ability to draw a Category B pension for a period of 10 and 15 years respectively, before withdrawing that Category B pension. The Department has not costed such a proposal.

State Retirement Pensions

Gregg McClymont: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  whether existing pensioners in receipt of pensions credit will continue to receive passported benefits towards housing costs under the proposals for the new single tier state pension;
	(2)  whether an individual retiring after 6 April 2016 with no other income, will also be entitled to the full support available for housing and council tax under the proposals for the single tier state pension.

Steve Webb: Existing passporting arrangements will continue to apply to those already in receipt of pension credit at the point when the single tier state pension is introduced. They will also apply to those making a claim to pension credit if they reach state pension age before 6 April 2016.
	All people, regardless of when they reach state pension age, will be able to make a claim for housing benefit, if they are not passported to it from pension credit, subject to meeting the relevant criteria.
	The full single tier pension itself will be set above the level of the standard minimum guarantee for a single person in pension credit. Those on low incomes may also be entitled to support with council tax, subject to the criteria set by the relevant local authority.

State Retirement Pensions: Poole

Robert Syms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many women in Poole constituency are expected to benefit from the new single tier pension.

Steve Webb: Those individuals who reach state pension age on or after 6 April 2016 may receive a single-tier pension, provided they satisfy the minimum qualifying period (which will be set at no higher than 10 years). This means women born on or after the 6 April 1953 may receive a single-tier pension. Their exact amount of state pension will be determined by their national insurance record.
	The Department estimates, using the 2011 census, that there are approximately 35,000 women living in Poole who are born after this date.
	We are not are able to determine at a constituency level how many of these individuals would receive a higher state pension than if the current system had remained in place.
	At a national level we estimate around 650,000 women who reach state pension age in the first 10 years after the single-tier pension is introduced will receive an average of £8 per week more in state pension due to the single-tier valuation.
	Notes:
	1. Estimate from census rounded to the nearest 5,000.
	2. National estimate rounded to the nearest 50,000.

Statistics

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on how many occasions the UK Statistics Authority has criticised his Department over its use of statistics since May 2010.

Esther McVey: Correspondence between the UK Statistics Authority and the Department for Work and Pensions can be found here:
	http://www.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/reports---correspondence/correspondence

Translation Services

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much (a) his Department and (b) its agencies spent on interpreters and translation services in (i) 2010, (ii) 2011 and (iii) 2012.

Michael Penning: We do not have a breakdown of data for the individual agencies within the Department for Work and Pensions.
	The amount spent by the Department for Work and Pensions on Interpreter Services, Foreign Language Document Translations, Braille, BSL and Audio, and Welsh translation for the financial years 2009-10 through to 2011-12 was:
	
		
			 £ 
			 Type of Translation 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 
			 Interpreter Services 5,500,000 6,500,000 4,600,000 
			 Foreign Language Document Translation 382,459 393,141 347,583 
			 Welsh 67,101 39,155 23,290 
			 British Sign Language and Speech to Text n/a 40,614 74,459 
			 Braille 28,360 (1)30,623 41,560 
			 Audio 25,368 (1)— 17,578 
			 (1) Included in the figure for Braille.

Unemployment Benefits

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people were receiving out-of-work benefits in (a) April 2010 and (b) the most recent date for which data is available.

Esther McVey: Statistics for those receiving out-of-work benefits are available on the Working Age Client Group data, by statistical group, and can be found at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dwp-statistics-tabulation-tool
	Guidance for users is available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dwp-tabulation-tool-guidance
	This data is published each quarter as at February, May, August and November in each year. The latest data is May 2013.

Universal Credit

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many jobseekers are claiming universal credit in (a) Worsley and Eccles South constituency, (b) the North West and (c) the UK.

Esther McVey: The first set of official statistics on UC caseloads has been pre-announced for release on 3 December and we will publish the available information at this point. Release dates are shown on UK National Statistics website:
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/hub/release-calendar/index.html? newquery=%22Universal+Credit+Official+Statistics%22&lday=3& lmonth=&lyear=&uday-&umonth=&uyear=&theme=&source-agency=&pagetype=calendar-entry

Work Programme: Wales

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 11 November 2013, Official Report, column 521W, on Work Programme: Wales, what assessment he has made of the performance of the Work programme in Wales.

Esther McVey: The most recent official statistics on the Work programme can be found through the following link:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/work-programme-statistics--2
	Work programme performance statistics up to the end of September 2013 will be released on 19 December 2013.